Baby On (Diving Board)
by 67OtakuGirl24X3
Summary: As seen on my AO3 account: Ever since the discovery of the artificial womb, it has been mandatory for all male high school students to test for their compatibility. When Haruka Nanase, Nagisa Hazuki, Aiichirou Nitori, and Momotarou Mikoshiba all find out that they're compatible, they make a decision that would change the entire course of their futures.
1. Chapter 1

"...and that should be all for today's lesson."

"Come on, Haru, class is over. ….Haru?" Makoto sighed as he turned to face his boyfriend at the desk beside him. Of course: he had fallen asleep, head buried in his arms. It was likely that he had been in that position since the beginning of class. Typical Haruka…

"Haru, you need to wake up!" Makoto half demanded, half whined, placing a hand on Haruka's shoulder and giving him a firm shake. Haruka shifted slightly and let out a sleepy, aggravated moan, the sound muffled against his desk.

"I'm awake," he mumbled, sitting up groggily with his eyes still closed.

Makoto wanted to cross his arms, narrow his eyes seriously, and give Haruka a proper scolding about falling asleep during lecture. ...But Haru looked so cute when he was still half asleep, that he simply couldn't bring himself to be stern with him. Silently scolding himself, Makoto allowed himself to smile warmly and gave an adoring shake to his head. "Were you sleeping the entire class?"

Haruka sat back and yawned, digging his knuckles into his eyes. "Dunno…"

"Your grades are going to start suffering, you know. I can't _always_ lend you my notes…" Makoto said that, yet both of them knew that wasn't true; Makoto struggled greatly with denying any of Haruka's requests, and both of them knew it.

Still, Haruka opened one eye and quickly glanced away from Makoto, pouting his lips slightly. Usually, his silence meant that he knew that he was in the wrong. Perhaps a _gentle_ scolding was enough after all. Makoto smiled wider and stood from his desk. "Well, let's head to practice, now. Don't want to keep the others waiting."

"Oh, wait, I nearly forgot!" the teacher called out as the class began to file out. All of the students paused to listen. "You're all familiar with the 'artificial womb' breakthrough, correct?" The teacher was met with a soft response of nods and various other forms of confirmation.

Of course everyone had heard about it: it had been the only thing on the news for weeks about a year ago. With the worldwide revolution of gay rights, scientists had discovered a way to create an artificial womb that would be functional with the male anatomy, so that two men could naturally conceive a child. Although not all men had compatible anatomy, procedures had been developed to determine whether or not they were.

"You may have heard this before," the teacher continued, "but Japan has mandated that all high schools in the nation test their third year boys to see whether or not they are qualified for the surgery, unless they've already conceived with another male. I'm sure you're wondering, 'Why do we second years need to know this?' Well, first and second years that wish to be tested before it's mandatory can also have it done, with consent from a legal guardian. So, if any of you boys would like to be tested, ask the nurse for a form, get it signed, and bring it in within the next two weeks. Doctors from Tokyo will be in our school performing the tests until then. Now, that's all! Dismissed."

With that, the students flooded into the hallway, the girls grumbling about how that had been a waste of their time and heterosexual boys questioning why they would need to be tested. "Isn't science amazing, Haru?" Makoto remarked cheerfully as the two boys made their way to the pool for swim practice.

"Mhm…" Haruka always had a distant vibe about him (especially when he was tired), and so Makoto thought little of his inattentive response and continued smiling, his pinky finger hooked around Haruka's. However, there was actually a legitimate reason for Haruka's indifference, this time: he was thinking about something. After a few moments of silence and Haruka's expression remaining unchanged, Makoto considered asking Haruka if anything was the matter, just in case; but by that point, they had already arrived at the pool.

"Pleeeease, Rei-chan? Just _one_ kiss?"

"It isn't as if I have a problem with kissing you, Nagisa, but do you understand that we are in _public_? If someone were to see…."

"Who would see? Gou-chan? Haru-chan? Mako-chan? They wouldn't care! I've seen Haru-chan and Mako-chan kiss at least twice!"

"But- ….w-well… Alright, if… you insist… _One_ kiss."

Makoto laughed quietly at the dialogue he was overhearing. He paused (Haruka bumping into him as he did so), and waited a few seconds after his two underclassmen had fallen silent before rounding the corner. Rei and Nagisa, sitting on the edge of the pool, were not kissing when Makoto and Haruka saw them, but Rei's face burned redder than the rims of his glasses and Nagisa wore a satisfied grin, so it could only be assumed that they had kissed very recently.

"Afternoon, Nagisa! Rei!" Makoto greeted them casually. Rei let out a startled gasp and nearly fell face-first into the pool while Nagisa looked over his shoulder nonchalantly and waved with a joyful smile.

"G-good afternoon to you, as well, Makoto-senpai-! Haruka-senpai-!" Rei spluttered, scrambling to his feet and standing at attention. Nagisa giggled and hopped up beside him.

"Gosh, Rei-chan could you _be_ any more suspicious?" Rei's cheeks flamed an even brighter red.

Nagisa had fallen in love with Rei Ryugazaki at first sight. Watching had turned into greeting, greeting had turned into teasing, teasing had turned into flirting, and at some point along the way they became a couple. They never officially announced their relationship to their fellow swim club members, but it was obvious enough that it didn't really need saying.

Makoto chuckled pleasantly, and turned his attention to the boy at his side. "Let's go get changed while we wait for Gou, shall we?" Haruka didn't even look at him when he spoke; only continued to stare at absolutely nothing. Makoto's smile faded into a concerned frown. "Haru…? ...Haru?"

It wasn't until then that Haruka seemed to acknowledge he was being spoken to. He blinked a few times as if clearing something out of his eyes, and glanced up at Makoto.

"...yeah… We should get changed."

Haruka's suspicious behavior continued throughout the practice. His times were slower than ever, he zoned out when Gou gave instructions, and oddest of all, when Gou suggested that they end practice early, he was the first one out of the pool.

"Haru… Is there something wrong?" Makoto inquired gently as they changed in the locker room. By the time Makoto was just taking his shirt off, Haruka was already fully clothed. Haruka paused briefly as he reached for his bag.

"...no." Makoto raised an unconvinced eyebrow. Ever since they were children, he had been able to see through Haruka like a window, even if he didn't always understand what exactly was on his mind.

Haruka remained silent as he gathered up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Just when it seemed like he had no intent of responding, the unthinkable happened: a gentle pink blush rose to his cheeks. "...I forgot something in the school. I have to go back for it."

That did absolutely nothing to ease Makoto's concern. "Want me to come with you-?"

"No," Haruka answered immediately. Makoto couldn't think of a time that Haruka had responded to anything so swiftly, and it caught him quite off guard.

"Ooh, I'm running back into the school, too!" Nagisa, who had evidently overheard their conversation, chimed in. "I wanna get a form from the nurse for my parents to sign. Y'know, for that womb thingy!"

As if Makoto wasn't already suspicious enough about Haruka, his eyes suddenly widened when Nagisa spoke those words.

"'Womb thingy'-? Wait, why do you want that procedure done, Nagisa? Is it even safe-?" Rei inquired as he dressed, eyes wide and voice dripping with worry. Nagisa flapped his hand dismissively.

"I'm curious, is all! No need to get all _panicky,_ Rei-chan. I'm just gonna sign up to take the test." Without providing any further explanation, he bounded across the locker room to give his boyfriend a reassuring kiss on the cheek. Except, Rei didn't look very reassured at all. Before he could say anything, though, Nagisa had already turned to leave. "You coming, Haru-chan~?"

Two things Haruka rarely did: denied walking somewhere with Makoto, and _accepted_ walking somewhere with Nagisa. Something was most certainly going on. With his caring nature and compassion for Haruka, Makoto desperately wished to know _what_ was going on, but he didn't want to pry. And so he stayed silent, and watched in confusion as Haruka shuffled after Nagisa back to the school.

Nagisa hardly seemed to notice or care that Haruka followed him through the school, without mentioning what it was he had forgotten inside. He swung his arms cheerily as he walked, humming a peppy beat all the while. "...why do you want to take the test?" Haruka suddenly asked, breaking the one-sided silence between them.

Nagisa stopped humming. "Hmm? Well…" He tilted his head, smiling. "It's like I told Rei-chan: I'm just... curious. My sisters always tease me for being so girly, so, I bet I _am_ a match for it! And I don't really wanna wait until my third year to find out…"

Even though Haruka was the one to ask the question, he gave no response, as if he wasn't listening to what Nagisa said. In actuality, he _had_ heard Nagisa; it was just that he was struggling as to whether or not he should speak what was on his mind, and if he should, how he would say it.

He eventually decided it would be best to simply come out and say it. "I want to take the test, too."

Nagisa practically tripped over his own feet. He spun around 180 degrees to face Haruka, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape. "You do? How come?" His eyes widened even more, and the corners of his lips turned up in a teasing grin. "Do you want to have babies with Mako-chan~?"

Haruka saw no reason to answer dishonestly. "...one day, yes. So when the day comes, I'd rather know if we can have our own or not, and if we can, be ready to do it."

The playful expression faded from Nagisa's face. It was a very rare thing for Haruka to be this talkative around him… And it also wasn't very often that Haruka would willingly talk about his relationship with Makoto. Nagisa smiled and continued down the hall. "That's a good idea, Haru-chan! So, if you _are_ compatible, will you get the surgery? Y'know, to get it over with?"

"...yes. What about you?"

"Hmm…" Nagisa tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, maybe! I guess I'm not really sure, yet." Smiling, he skipped ahead and turned the corner into the nurse's office. "Hello, Ms. Nurse! Can I please have two consent forms for the artificial womb? One for me, one for my friend?"

Haruka waited at the corner until Nagisa reappeared in the hallway with two sheets of paper. "One for me, and one for you!" he declared, handing one of the forms to Haruka. He took it hesitantly, as if uncertain as to whether or not he should truly go through with this.

After gazing at the form for a moment, Haruka gave Nagisa a subtle appreciative nod. Nagisa grinned; briefly.

"...but wait a second. Don't you live alone, Haru-chan? Who's gonna sign the form?

...Haruka hadn't thought of that.

Makoto was waiting for Haruka at the front gates. It surprised Haruka to see him there when swim practice had let out over ten minutes ago, and also tugged at his sense of guilt since he knew he was only waiting up for him. He knew he should apologize for making him wait; still, he said nothing of the sort and simply began walking home with Makoto at his side.

There were two questions Makoto wanted to ask: what really was wrong with him, and what was the paper in his hand? He felt as if the first question would sound too needy and prying, and so he decided to ask the latter. "So, what do you have there-?"

It was immediately clear that this question made Haruka uncomfortable. Feeling spontaneously guilty, Makoto was about to apologize, to tell him he didn't need to know, when suddenly Haruka pressed the paper into his hands. Makoto stared at the paper, then up at Haruka as if to say, "Can I really have this-?" except Haruka was avoiding his gaze. So, Makoto slowly unfolded the paper and scanned over what was written on it. His eyes widened.

"...Haru, this is-!"

"It doesn't matter," Haruka interjected quietly. He was still staring in the opposite direction of Makoto. "...my parents won't be home until summer. Nobody can sign it, anyway."

"...well… We could ask _my_ parents to sign it…"

Haruka froze in place, his head whipping around to face Makoto. "...would they do that?" His blue eyes were wide and shining with emotion that he typically hid. It made Makoto smile softly.

"Of course they would! They _love_ you, Haru. And, if you really want the test done, they're in no place to stop you," he insisted.

The shine in Haruka's eyes continued to glisten, and it seemed as though he might smile. But Makoto knew it took a lot to earn a smile from Haruka, and wasn't surprised when Haruka gently took the form back and turned away without another word. Makoto was content enough just knowing that Haruka was happy.

There were plenty of questions Makoto was wondering: why did he want to take the test now instead of waiting until next year? Was that why he had been acting strangely? If so, why did it mean so much to him? Did he plan on getting the surgery if he was compatible? What made him decide he wanted the surgery in the first place, if that was the case?

But he respected his privacy and kept quiet, continuing down the road towards his home.

And then something strange happened: when he nudged Haruka's hand to signal that he was going to link their pinkies like they normally did, Haruka spread not just his pinky, but all five of his fingers, apart and took Makoto's entire hand in his.

Haruka and Nagisa turned in their forms promptly the next day. Makoto was impressed; Haruka hardly ever turned anything into school on-time. It seemed not many first or second years had signed up, as both of them were called to the nurse's office within an hour of handing them in.

The compatibility test required various liquid samples: blood, urine, and… a certain white bodily fluid. It also required several measurements, including height, weight, hip width, and, embarrassingly enough, penis length. Nagisa didn't mind all that much, but Haruka felt increasingly regretful with each piece of information they gathered. But before he could really complain, the testing was over and the doctor told him they would page him back down when the results were in.

It took the doctors three days to analyze the data. Haruka and Nagisa waited in two very differing ways. Nagisa was completely impatient, staring anxiously at the loudspeaker all day and spending swim practice whining about how he wanted his results. Haruka, on the other hand, was back to his normal self, as if he had completely forgotten about the test and the results were of no concern to him. This was another instance where even Makoto didn't quite understand what exactly he was thinking.

But that Friday afternoon, the results had come in. About half an hour into the final period of the day, just when it seemed like they would have to wait through the weekend to get the results, Haruka and Nagisa were called down over the loudspeaker. Nagisa immediately bounced up out of his seat, almost forgetting to take his belongings with him, while Haruka's eyes widened at the sound of his name but otherwise stood casually. He took his time walking to the nurse's office, while Nagisa practically ran the entire way.

Nagisa's results were crystal clear. "Soooo? Am I compatible?!" the little blonde demanded eagerly the second he sat down in the nurse's office. The doctor, holding a clipboard, smiled at him.

"Mr. Hazuki… Your compatibility was 99%. In other words, assuming you go ever through with the surgery, the womb would fit right in completely naturally, as if it's been there all along, with a nearly perfect probability of conception."

Nagisa's eyes rounded, his mouth forming an "o" shape. He didn't actually know what he expected the results to be, or if he was surprised at what they were. Was he excited? Happy? Disappointed? Scared? Shocked? Nagisa found himself speechless and even a bit dazed. "...Wow!" he mustered.

"Now then. Do you plan on having the surgery done?" the doctor asked him.

Nagisa tilted his head, closing his mouth and pursing his lips slightly. As eager as he was to hear his results, he realized, now, that he wasn't actually prepared to know them. He hadn't thought this far ahead. "IIII... don't know," he answered honestly.

The doctor continued to smile. "And that is perfectly alright. There's no need to rush, Mr. Hazuki. We'll be here for another week, if you only need a couple days to think on it. But if you decide you'd like to wait, we will be here the same time next year, and the year after that, as well. If you don't want to wait _that_ long, you can contact your local Planned Parenthood, and they can refer you to somewhere that you can have it done."

"...um… Okay!" Nagisa grinned and hopped off the bed. "I'll think about it!"

Haruka's results, on the other hand, were not quite as clean cut. It wasn't as though his doctor seemed grim or anything, but he certainly was not smiling, and scrutinized the clipboard in his hand for a while before speaking. "Mr. Nanase. Your results were difficult to determine… But, we concluded that you have a 55% compatibility with the artificial womb."

"...is that bad?" Haruka looked as calm and apathetic as ever, but his heart was beating rapidly inside his chest. It was clear to him that he wanted a baby with Makoto, one day, and knew it would be easiest to bear it himself. ...but if he wasn't even compatible… He hadn't thought much on the subject, but now that he had no choice _except_ to think about it, it made him nervous.

"Not necessarily… We allow all men with 50% compatibility and above to undergo the surgery. However, your body may have more trouble adapting to the change, and even once it's adapted, your conception rates will be much lower."

"...but I _am_ compatible," Haruka confirmed slowly.

"Well, yes, technically…"

That was all Haruka needed to hear. He didn't care about the risks; if it meant being able to one day have a child for Makoto, as long as it didn't _kill_ him, he would do it. "Then can I get the surgery?"

The doctor blinked, a bit surprised at Haruka's straightforwardness. "Are you certain that you don't want to wait? You'll have to miss a minimum of three weeks of school…"

...three weeks… That meant at least fifteen days of training Haruka would have to miss out on. What would that mean for the Iwatobi swim team-? ...he could make up for that lost time. He knew he could. They didn't have a competition for another _four_ weeks, so if he put in extra practice time each day he was back in school… He could do it.

He had absolutely no idea why he wanted the surgery done so quickly, why he was unable to wait; but that was simply how he felt, and he was going to act on it.

"Yes. I'm sure," he insisted with flat confidence.

"...alright… I'll explain the procedure to you, and then we'll make you an appointment."


	2. Chapter 2

It came as a shock to everyone he told that Haruka had decided to get the surgery. Makoto was the first to know, and then he announced it to the swim team, and upon Gou and Makoto's suggestion, he told Rin as well. Mostly, they were all surprised that Haruka Nanase would willingly do something to his body that would prevent him from swimming for more than a few days and perhaps change his swimming performance forever. The unspoken mutual concern, though, was why he chose to do it in the first place. Did he plan on getting pregnant sometime soon? ...and did he intend for Makoto to be the father? It was a thought that made everyone, ESPECIALLY Makoto, blush uncomfortably. It was so difficult to understand that boy…

Nagisa, too, decided that he wanted the surgery. The Monday after he had heard his results, he went down to the nurse's office and requested to make an appointment. His excuse was that the doctor said once he was fully recovered from the surgery, he wouldn't even notice it was there, and he just wanted to get it done so he wouldn't have to worry about it later on. Their friends seemed much less surprised at Nagisa's decision. That is, except for Rei, who was paranoid that something would go wrong and Nagisa's health would be compromised.

Rei's fears proved meaningless, though, as the surgeries were a success for both Haruka and Nagisa.

During the three weeks that they were required to stay home from school, the side effects of the surgery gradually began to show themselves. Their hips seemed to widen ever-so-slightly, and their bodies slowly became curvier by the day. Like a pregnant woman, they had occasional nausea and mood swings, accompanied by strange cravings: Nagisa's sweet tooth was replaced by a strong desire for salty foods, and Haruka wanted things other than mackerel. Knowing this, Gou made sure to text them every day reminding them to eat healthily, so as not to ruin their bodies before they returned to swimming.

Throughout the recovery, Makoto and Rei were right there by their sides. Every day, they would bring their boyfriends notes so they didn't get behind on their schoolwork, and visit them in their homes for at least an hour after school each day. Sometimes, they would even spend the night. It was during these sleepovers that they discovered another embarrassing side effect: a sudden increase in sex drive. Nagisa was typically flirtatious as it was, and it wasn't as if he and Rei practiced total abstinence; but Rei would simply be cooking dinner for him and Nagisa would press up against him, rubbing his body erotically against his and begging him for sex. Advances like these flustered Rei, of course, but he always managed to keep up his composure and calmly turn him down, as the doctor had sternly instructed that Nagisa was to engage in absolutely no sexual activity until his three weeks were up and he had consulted with the doctor.

Haruka, too, got a little more intimate than usual with Makoto. He and Makoto were no virgins; but they usually saved sex for special occasions. One night when Makoto was sleeping over Haruka's house, Makoto noticed that Haruka's face was feverishly red as they prepared for bed. Immediately worried, Makoto hurried to him and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "Oh, my, you're burning up…! You need to lay down… I'll get you a cold cloth for your head, and some medicine…"

"...no," Haruka murmured as Makoto fretted about. "...I don't have a fever."

Makoto blinked in confusion. "What-? But Haru, you're-" Makoto's words got trapped in his mouth. He just so happened to glance downwards, and when he realized what was making Haruka's face so red, he blushed himself. "...oh… U-um… How about you take a cold shower-?" Makoto suggested. Blushing even deeper, he added, "I-I would help you out, but… Doctor's orders…"

"I know," Haruka grumbled. He had never looked more humiliated in his entire life.

As the third week approached, the symptoms gradually stopped showing, until Nagisa and Haruka were essentially back to their old selves.

That had been Nagisa and Rei's first year, and Makoto and Haruka's second year; now, they were second and third years.

Some of the side effects stuck with them even after nearly a year had passed. For one, the changes to their body were permanent. It took them longer than they expected to get accustomed to these changes, and it cost them wins at two competitions. But once they got used to their wider hips and slight extra weight, their times were as fast as ever.

The other side effect was more so exclusive to Haruka than Nagisa. Nagisa had always been a bit more of a "girl," often giggling or pouting and showing affection to his friends and especially Rei with no filter. So, the addition of estrogen to his body did little for his personality.

Haruka's attitude, on the other hand, changed considerably. Previously, it would be next to impossible to earn a smile from him. But now, if he felt happy, he allowed himself to smile, even if only slightly. His calm and cool composure remained, but his eyes revealed more emotion than ever. He still found PDA and open declarations of "I love you" to be embarrassing and unnecessary; but when they were alone, he was noticeably more affectionate with Makoto. Their kisses lasted longer than before, they were always touching discreetly if they were close enough to each other (be it bumping knees against each other or hooking ankles under tables), and pinky-linking became an in-school-only thing, as they held hands everywhere else they went. These changes felt strange to Makoto; but as a whole, they were subtle differences, and he was still the same Haru that Makoto had been in love with ever since they were children. He had grown more sentimental, was all.

This new school year seemed ideal for love. Over at Samezuka Academy, Rin Matsuoka had asked Aiichirou Nitori to go out with him towards the end of their second and first year. Aiichirou, who had been hopelessly in love with Rin since the very moment he laid eyes on him, naturally accepted without a doubt. Now that they were a third and second year, they had moved out of their mushy-gushy honeymoon phase, and their love was truly beginning to blossom. As the new captain of the swim team, Rin didn't have much time to give Aiichirou preferential treatment during practice; but everywhere else, he treated Aiichirou like royalty.

The relationship between Rei and Nagisa, too, had grown progressively ever since they began seeing each other at the beginning of the prior year. They teased each other like children and argued like a married couple, but at the end of the day, their love was pure. They had become completely open with one another, to the point that they knew things about each other that even their families had no idea about. They shared tears, laughter, and kisses galore, and perfectly balanced out each others' flaws. Although it had only been a year since they got together, it was clear to both of them that they had found the love of their lives.

Yet, Makoto and Haruka were arguably the closest of them all. The fact that they had known each other their entire lives already made their bond as strong as steel, but Haruka's newfound sentiment brought them even closer as a couple. Neither of them ever said it aloud, but they both thought the same thing: they wanted to spend forever with each other. There was no ring to prove it, but they each knew in their hearts that they would spend the rest of their lives together.

And it was those feelings that would lead Haruka Nanase to make an impossible request, Nagisa Hazuki to pull a horrible lie, and Aiichirou Nitori to make a choice that he knew would change him forever.

Something was on Haruka's mind. That was something that hadn't changed about him: if he was thinking about something, either it was impossible to figure out what he was thinking about, or it was impossible to notice that something was on his mind at all. In this case, the situation was the latter. Nobody, not even Makoto, could tell that Haruka was struggling with something inside of him: a bizarre, unreasonable desire that he wanted more than anything.

But one night, while spending the night at Makoto's, he decided he would take a risk and make his request anyway.

Makoto and Haruka were playing a video game with Ren and Ran in Makoto's room, the boys on the bed and the twins on the floor, until Makoto realized it was well past ten PM.

"Whoa, when did it get so late… You two need to go to bed!" Makoto's exclamation resulted in loud whines of protest from his younger twin siblings.

"Just one more round?" begged Ren. " _Please?_ " they demanded in unison. Smiling, Makoto shook his head, standing up to turn off the game console. The twins whined even louder and dropped their controllers huffily.

"Oh, don't be like that, you guys! Tell you what. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I hear it's supposed to rain all day. If Haru wants to stay a while, we can play a few more rounds with him tomorrow," Makoto suggested. The twins' dreary expressions lit up, and they turned to Haruka with eager, pleading eyes. He stared down at them and shrugged, smiling just slightly.

"I have nothing else to do."

The twins squealed in perfect unison, scurrying to put away their controllers. "Thank you, Haru! Good night!" They tossed themselves at him in a quick hug, scrambled to give Makoto his own hugs and kisses, told him a hurried "good night, Big Brother!" and hurried off to prepare for bed.

"...you're so good with them," Haruka commented quietly as Makoto collected his controller from him and got up to put both of theirs away.

"Hm?" Makoto glanced over his shoulder with a curious smile, and then returned to Haruka's side on his bed. "What brought that on…?" It was a random remark indeed: Haruka had seen Makoto interact with his little siblings since they were born, but had only commented on Makoto's behavior with them _maybe_ one time.

Haruka didn't respond immediately, and that gave Makoto a reason to take a better look at his face. His smile faded when he noticed the troubled look in Haruka's eyes. "Haru…? What's wrong-?"

"Can I ask you something?" Haruka's voice overlapped with Makoto's, making it apparent that Haruka had not heard Makoto, but was instead preparing to speak. Makoto's eyes widened.

"Yes-! Of course you can… Anything," he insisted in a quick yet gentle tone.

Haruka closed his eyes lightly, drawing in a slow, deep breath. It made Makoto nervous; what did he have to ask that was so big-? After a few seconds, Haruka reopened his eyes, and turned to look at his boyfriend, wearing a vivid expression of sincere determination. "I want to have a baby with you."

A blush rose in Makoto's cheeks, and his jaw fell slack. He stared at Haruka, eyes bulging, opening and closing his mouth as he struggled to find the right words. "...I… Oh, Haru…! I… To be honest, I want to have a family with you too, one day…"

To Makoto's horror, Haruka was shaking and even sweating a bit, as if it took all of his strength to have this conversation. "I'm not talking about in the future. I mean… I want a baby with you _now_."

Makoto felt his heartbeat increase as he realized the topic at hand. "...now? While we're... still in high school? Haru, this is our _last year_ …" he said as calmly as he could manage.

Haruka had removed his gaze from Makoto's face and was instead staring down at his lap, gripping the bed tightly. He spoke very slowly, so as to keep his voice steady. "I won't ask you to drop out with me. I'm no good at school, anyway. It would be better to leave halfway through than to waste my time until the end. I never planned on going to college, and… We're moving in together while you go to university, aren't we? Then there's no problem."

"Well… Yes, I was planning on that… But, while I'm in class, you'd be left home alone with the baby…!" Makoto pointed out. He felt his face burn redder as he began to imagine a life where he studied all day at university then returned home each evening to his beloved Haruka, and a _baby_. ...his heart beat faster as it occurred to him that it wasn't a bad thought.

"I don't mind." Haruka's heart was beating just as fast as Makoto's. He had to win this… He _had_ to...

Makoto gulped hard. They were still young, they really shouldn't have a baby just yet… Another argument occurred to him. "You'll have to quit the swim team…"

"I know that. I never cared about competitive swimming, anyway…"

"...no, but, without all four of us, we'll have to break up the team… There wouldn't be an Iwatobi Swim Club anymore," Makoto reasoned reluctantly.

Haruka stopped. ...Makoto was right… This wasn't just about him. Such a big decision would impact more than just him- more than just him and Makoto, even. He realized, then, just how selfish he was being, and just how absurd of a thing he was asking for. "...right… Sorry." He hung his head and turned his face away, so that Makoto couldn't see that tears were welling up in his eyes. But Makoto could feel his distress. ….and he couldn't take it anymore.

"...Haru…" Haruka flinched. He didn't want to hear Makoto's soft, piteous voice; not when he knew he was upset with him. He suddenly wanted to get up and go home. "Haru, listen to me. I… I want to do this."

Haruka's entire body froze. His eyes widened enough that one tear escaped and slipped down his cheek. "...what?" he whispered.

"I… I want to have a baby with you, too." Makoto blushed, smiling almost apologetically. "And… I'm sure it's selfish of us, to break up the swim team, but, I'm sure if we just talk to them, Gou and Rei and Nagisa will understand… I know we're probably too young to be parents, but... If you don't want to wait, I won't _make_ you wait. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this… If you're sure you're ready, then, I'm right there with you. I love you, Haru. I'll do anything for you."

The thin wall Haruka had put up to contain his emotions shattered, and all of his feelings came pouring out at once. His body stopped shaking and he gazed up at Makoto, looking shocked and relieved and grateful all at once, while tears began to trickle down his face.

"...Makoto… Thank you." He choked out. Shaking his head slightly, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around Makoto's thick neck, crying gently against his chest. "...I love you..." he murmured softly.

Makoto smiled softly, nearly in tears himself. "I love you, too… Haru…"

"...tonight," Haruka murmured, leaning back and wiping his eyes on his arm. "Let's try tonight."

Makoto's face flushed pink once again. "Wow, you really meant it when you said you want a baby _now_ …" He laughed nervously.

"...we don't have to, if you aren't ready." Haruka realized just how much he was asking of Makoto; he didn't want to put any more pressure on him than he needed.

"No-!" Makoto shook his head, and smiled reassuringly. "I'm ready whenever you are." To prove his point, he took Haruka's face in his hands and gave him a big, soft kiss. Haruka was smiling when he pulled away.

At exactly the same time, Haruka and Makoto took a deep, composing breath. They laughed lightly at each other. "So… How do we do this-?" Haruka had explained, once, how conception worked with the artificial womb, but the way he stated it had been so embarrassing that Makoto had forgotten.

"Unprotected anal, preceded by long, stimulating foreplay." ...that's right. That's why Makoto had been embarrassed to hear Haruka's explanation.

"R-right," Makoto coughed, blushing heavily and scratching his cheek. "So, um…. Do we, start now?"

"Mhm… ...wait, no."

Makoto's eyes widened in concern. "What's the matter-?"

"...we should lock the door, first."

The artificial womb had certain benefits. It followed a certain cycle just like women's reproductive organs, except without menstruation. The closest a man with an artificial womb came to a "period" was during the days he was most fertile. For a few days each month, he would feel certain symptoms of pregnancy: horniness, cravings, and mood swings.

Nagisa planned to use the knowledge of his own cycle to his advantage.

Nagisa felt as if he fell more and more in love with Rei every day. At this point, he felt so much love for him he felt like he would burst. He couldn't imagine ever loving anyone else in his life. Consequently, it made him fantasize about a future with him. He was uncertain whether or not Rei's love for him was as strong as his was for Rei, but he still liked to think that they would stay together even after high school, seeing each other around their busy work and college schedules, then attending each others' graduations (assuming they went to separate universities) and then buying a cozy little house together, and getting married and one day starting a family. Those thoughts made Nagisa very happy.

On the contrary, one of the secrets Nagisa had digressed in Rei and Rei alone was how stressed school made him feel. The boarding school he had attended during middle school, and the pressure his parents put on him to get good grades, made academics a nightmare for Nagisa. He liked coming to school to see his friends, and for the swim club… But the scholarly part of it was dreadful for him.

The combination of the two contradicting thoughts- how much he loved Rei, and how much he detested school- made him want something very, very risky. Something that, unbeknownst to Nagisa, Haruka wanted for himself and Makoto, too.

Rei had invited him over to his apartment for a study date, and to spend the night if they ended up studying until dark. The plan that Nagisa had formulated revolved around him spending the night, and so he made sure to take his time on each assignment, and ask Rei as many questions as possible.

"Well would you look at that… We've covered everything!" Rei declared triumphantly as he closed the fourth textbook they had opened that night. He beamed at the little blonde next to him. "You really worked hard today, Nagisa. I'm proud."

Nagisa's cheeks turned pink at Rei's sincere praise, and he giggled. "Nah, I couldn't have done _half_ of this without you here to motivate me!"

Rei's expression softened, and he ruffled Nagisa's hair lightly. "You truly don't give yourself enough credit, Nagisa." He happened to glance at the window as he said this, and his eyes widened behind his glasses. "When did it get so dark-?!" The smile returned to his face. "It seems you'll be spending the night, then, hm? I'll start dinner…"

"Ooh, good idea! Rei-chan's cooking is super yummy~" Nagisa stood and stretched while Rei went off to the kitchen. Once Rei was out of the room, the innocent grin on Nagisa's face slowly contorted into a suggestive smirk. He tip-toed after his boyfriend, and draped his arms around his waist from behind. "You know, Rei-chan," he murmured into Rei's ear, his chin propped on his shoulder, "wouldn't ya say I deserve a reward for studying so hard tonight~?"

Rei sighed as he turned on the stove, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, alright… You earned a kiss."

Nagisa could never turn down one of Rei's kisses; however, that wasn't what he had in mind, so he pouted as Rei leaned towards his lips. "I do love your kisses, Rei-chan… Buuut, I was thinking we could try something special."

The smile faded from Rei's face, and he pulled his mouth away from Nagisa's. "...special?"

"You know…" Nagisa raised his eyebrows mischievously and lowered his voice. " _That thing_."

It took him a moment to realize, but Rei knew exactly what "thing" Nagisa was talking about. He coughed heavily, his face immediately flushing a deep red and his eyebrows furrowing together. "...w-well, we… Did discuss that, yes… And as much as I would love to do that with you, I don't own the proper materials….!"

Nagisa's eyes widened incredulously. "Didn't you buy lube when we first said we might do this? Did you already use it all?"

Rei flinched at how casually Nagisa said something so embarrassing. He adjusted his glasses with his pointer finger and cleared his throat. "No, I haven't touched it since I purchased it… But it's the… protection, that I don't have."

Nagisa tilted his head. "Oh, you mean condoms?" Rei flinched again, closing his eyes tightly in embarrassment, but then nodded. Nagisa shook his head dismissively. "Oh, that's okay! You don't have any STDs, right?"

"Well no, of course not! But, Nagisa… Are you forgetting that you possess a _womb_? And you can get pregnant through the method of sex we're talking about here…"

Nagisa gave another shake to his head. "Only if we do it when I'm fertile! And my fertile days for this month ended last week."

From the way that Nagisa stated that so casually, one would think that he made a habit of telling lies. Because that was exactly what he had just said: a lie. The first half of it was the truth; however, he was on the second day of his "period," and he knew that. But there was no way that Rei would.

"...are you… positive…?" Rei asked nervously, the blush gradually draining from his face.

"Positive! I could _never_ lie to you, Rei-chan." Nagisa rubbed his head affectionately against Rei's shoulder, as if to prove his loyalty with the loving gesture.

"...well, in that case…" Rei cleared his throat, and adjusted his glasses again. "We'll finish our meal, and then we can try… _that_."

Nagisa let out a contented squeal. "YAY! Thank you, Rei-chan! I love you _so_ much!" With that, he pecked Rei on the lips and skipped to the other side of the kitchen so that he could cook in peace.

It was a good thing Rei was better at reading books than people, because behind Nagisa's flirty grin, he was suppressing a strong sense of guilt, and deep down, feeling very, very nervous.

"Nitori-senpai! Nitori-senpai!" Aiichirou tensed as his noisy roommate bounded into their dormitory. "Did your teacher tell you about the artificial room test, too?"

"...you mean 'womb'... But, yes, we all were told. It's a yearly thing; I heard about it last year, too," Aiichirou told him matter-of-factly. It felt good to be able to act like a privileged upperclassman, he had to admit, especially when he had to deal with an _underclassman_ like Momotarou every day.

"Well, are ya gonna take the test?" Momotarou eagerly inquired, scampering up into his bunk and leaning over the side so that he was looking at Aiichirou upside-down.

Aiichirou paused, slowly putting down the magazine he was reading and staring down at his lap. "...I… might, actually, yes. I think so," he answered hesitantly, a light pink tinting his cheeks.

Momotarou let out an excited gasp, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's take it _together_!" 

"...you mean you want to take it?" Aiichirou asked, a bit perplexed.

"Yup! I wanna know how compatible I am!"

Aiichirou raised an eyebrow, looking up at the red-headed first year with a bit of aggravation in his expression and tone. "So, you're basically just taking it for fun."

"Preeeeetty much!" Momotarou confirmed. The color was beginning to drain from his face, so he swung himself back upright, giggling at his light-headedness.

Aiichirou sighed, shaking his head and returning to his magazine. _Was I that obnoxious as a first year, too?_ he wondered. ...that was something he knew the answer to. Memories of his own voice squealing _"Rin-senpai! Rin-senpai!"_ played in his head, and his cheeks turned even pinker than before. ...but now here he was, in a happy relationship with the upperclassman he spent the entire year bothering, so obviously he did something right. Continuing to blush, he smiled contentedly to himself.

With it being a private school, Samezuka followed a slightly different procedure for the artificial womb test than Iwatobi. Since many of the students lived too far away to possibly get a form signed by their parents within two weeks, anyone was allowed to take the test so long as they signed up. If they wanted to go through with the actual surgery, however, _then_ they needed written consent. That being said, the following morning after breakfast, Aiichirou and Momotarou headed to the nurse's office and signed up to take the test.

They were called down that evening, just before swim practice. Since they finished around the same time, Momotarou brought it upon himself to walk with Aiichirou to the pool. "How did your test go, Nitori-senpai?"

"Um, fine…" Aiichirou wondered if Momotarou had any sense of when people did not want to talk to him.

"It was kinda gross, huh? How did you give them, you know, the _white stuff_?" Momotarou gasped, and a mischievous smirk stretched across his face. He poked Aiichirou's arm teasingly. "Did you think of Rin-senpai~?"

Aiichirou's entire face flushed bright red and he let out a horrified squeak. He ran the rest of the way to swim practice, Momotarou cackling behind him.

Since there were more boys at Samezuka than Iwatobi, it took much longer for their results to come in. In Aiichirou's case, however, this was a good thing; it provided him with enough time to think over what he would do if the results came back positive. By the time they called him to the nurse's office the following week, he had made up his mind.

"Mr. Nitori, let's see…" The doctor's eyes widened as she flipped through her clipboard. Aiichirou was nervous enough as it was, but that reaction did not make him feel any better. However, when the doctor looked up at him, she smiled. "You are _extremely_ compatible, young man. 99%!"

Aiichirou's shoulders fell in relief, and a tiny smile formed at the corner of his mouth. "Oh…! So, if I wanted to get the surgery, it would be safe…?"

" _Perfectly_ safe. I take it that means you're interested, then?"

Aiichirou hesitated. He had put a lot of thought into this, but as he realized what a big decision he was making, he felt a little uncertain. Still, he gulped, closed his eyes tightly, and gave a decisive nod.

The doctor told Aiichirou everything he needed to know about the surgery itself, and how to proceed with getting it done. After signing up for an appointment, he was dismissed, just in time for swim practice.

"Sorry I'm late, Rin… I was at the nurse," Aiichirou apologized as he hurried out of the locker room. Rin, who was doing his leg stretches, shook his head casually.

"I know, I heard them call you down. They gave you your test results, right?" Aiichirou blushed as if it had been a secret, even though he had told Rin that he took the test the day he took it. He nodded. "And?"

"...um… I'm compatible. _Extremely_ compatible, actually…"

Rin paused his stretching and stood on his feet. He smiled down at Aiichirou, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I can believe that… So, how about the surgery? Do you think you're going to get it?"

Aiichirou's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, and he gazed nervously at the floor. "...well… I already made an appointment. So…. Mhm."

Rin's eyes widened. There was a bit of surprise in his expression, but it faded quickly. The smile returned to his face, softer this time. "Oh yeah? I'll have to be more gentle with you, then," he teased. Disregarding whether or not anyone was watching, he leaned over and gave Aiichirou a little peck on the lips. The poor boy blushed even deeper.

"I'll have to miss three weeks of school, minimum…" he told him, facing the ground but looking up at Rin with his eyes. He was smiling slightly; he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Rin's very presence made him happy.

"Yeah, I remember when Haru and Nagisa had to… That's why we kicked their _butts_ at those two tournaments." He grinned at his own comment, and it made Aiichirou unconsciously smile wider.

"...um… I thought about it a lot, and, I don't know if I'll be able to recover after the surgery, like Haru-senpai and Nagisa did…" Aiichirou gulped, his smile fading as he tried to find the right words. "I… don't think I'll be able to swim in tournaments. I know you had me on the roster, but… I think, you'll have to take me off… I'm sorry…"

He closed his eyes, expecting Rin to be gazing at him in disappointment. However, when he peeked at his boyfriend with one eye, he saw that he was only smiling softly at him. "Well, if that's really how you feel… I'm not going to force you to work past your limits. We'll have to wait and see; maybe we can whip you back into shape. I'm not going to give up on you, but I'll take you off the roster for now, Ai."

Aiichirou's chest suddenly felt very warm inside, and it seemed as if butterflies were fluttering around his stomach. Rin really, truly was such a good person… "Oh…! Thank you, Rin-! I lo-"

"NITORI-SENPAI!"

And, there went the sentimental moment between them. " _What_ , Momo," Aiichirou practically growled, slowly turning from Rin to glare at the boy that had interrupted them.

"I got my results! I'm 70% compatible with the womb!" Momotarou announced proudly. He was oblivious to how strongly uninterested Aiichirou was.

"So are you thinking about getting the surgery, then, Momo?" Rin casually asked the first year. _Why are you making conversation with him?!_ Aiichirou thought angrily.

Momotarou snorted. "No _way_! I was just kinda curious! Chicks don't dig guys with _lady parts._ " He then suddenly seemed to realize that he was at swim practice but not yet in a swimsuit, and scurried off to the locker room without another word.

Aiichirou let out an irritated sigh. "Was I _that_ annoying last year, Rin?"

"...hmmmm…"

Aiichirou's jaw dropped. "Why are you taking so long to think about it-?!" he shrieked. Rin laughed, placing his hand atop Aiichirou's head.

"Kidding, kidding. I wouldn't say you were _annoying_ , more like… dedicated." Aiichirou's offensive stance deflated, and the tiniest of smiles grew on his face. Blushing, he stood on his toes and gave Rin a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Rin…." he murmured.

"And I love you, too, Ai."


	3. Chapter 3

For the weeks following their fateful night, Haruka acted a bit paranoid. He would constantly gaze down at his abdomen, as if expecting to spontaneously feel nauseas or develop a noticeable bump. He zoned out in class even more often than usual, staring at nothingness with a dazed or dreamy look in his eyes, thoughts of his future with Makoto and their baby playing in his mind. Similar images visited Makoto's mind, as well; though, oftentimes he also worried. What if their attempt was unsuccessful, and Haruka got depressed over it? What if Haru came to regret this decision? What if something went wrong with the pregnancy, and Haru got sick, or worse- _died_? What if Haru was fine, but lost the baby before it was born? Nonetheless, he did his best to hide these concerns and feign calmness, so that his worry wouldn't rub off on those around him, specifically Haruka.

The one area in which Haruka managed to maintain his focus was the swim team. At each practice, he was his normal self; no, his self before he even got the surgery. He stayed in the pool after the others were already dressed, and swam like he was training for the Olympics. It seemed to Makoto that Haruka wanted to do his utmost best for the team before he would have no choice but to abandon it.

Each day, when they walked home from school, Haruka would slow down slightly as they passed the convenience store, thinking: _Should I buy it?_ But each day, he would give a slight shake to his head and return to normal speed before Makoto could notice he was distracted.

However, as the weeks since his and Makoto's attempt turned into a month, and that month turned into two months, he couldn't take it anymore. He _needed_ one. He needed to _know_.

"...wait."

Makoto paused immediately at the sound of Haruka's voice. He knew Haruka had been feeling particularly out of it all day, and so Makoto was even keener on alert than usual.

"What's wrong, Haru-?" He didn't even attempt to mask the concern in his voice as he turned to face his boyfriend. "Are you feeling dizzy again?"

Haruka slowly shook his head, glancing at the store to their right. "...I want to buy a test." The doctor had told Haruka when he got the surgery that if he ever believed he was pregnant, a regular store-bought pregnancy test would work just as accurately as it would for a woman; he didn't require a special procedure, or anything.

"Oh…!" Makoto's eyes widened, and his shoulders slackened slightly as he realized where they had stopped. "You _do_ need one, don't you… But, what made you decide to buy one all of a sudden…?"

A light blush rose to Haruka's cheeks, and he gazed down at his feet. "...I looked up early symptoms… Dizziness and fatigue was one. ...I've felt dizzy and tired a lot, recently. It might be a coincidence… But…" He bit his lip. "I don't want to wait anymore."

It always made Makoto's heart race, hearing Haruka speak more than his typical brief comments and responses. He smiled softly, and nodded his head. "It's been two months now, hasn't it? Now should be a good time to check." Haruka, still focusing on the ground, nodded silently. "Would you like me to come in with you…?"

After a short pause, Haruka nodded again.

Makoto allowed Haruka to be the one to select which test he would buy. After carefully scrutinizing his options, he decided on the one that was said to have the most accurate results. "That one it is, then," Makoto stated cheerfully, picking the box that Haruka pointed at off the shelf. "Is there anything else you need, while we're here?"

Haruka's gaze was momentarily transfixed on the box in Makoto's hands, until he slowly raised his eyes to Makoto's face. "...are you going to pay for that?" Because it was the most accurate, the selected test was also the most expensive. Makoto nodded, smiling, and Haruka's eyes widened slightly. "...I'll choose a different one, then…"

Makoto could tell exactly what Haruka was thinking. He shook his head, gently grabbing Haruka's wrist as he reached for a cheaper brand. "I don't mind, Haru. Honest! You should get the best one, so we don't have any doubts. Besides; I can't put a price on your happiness."

A small, faint blush tinted Haruka's cheeks. He couldn't argue with that… And so he allowed Makoto to buy him the test, and they headed home.

While they walked along, Haruka held the plastic bag in one hand, and with the other, he tightly gripped Makoto's. They didn't speak for a long while. Makoto, as usual, was the one to eventually break the silence. "...so… When do you think you want to take it? The test..."

Haruka absently tightened his hold on his boyfriend's hand. Sometimes he wondered if Makoto was able to read his mind, as he had just questioned the exact topic that Haruka was currently contemplating. "...tonight," he answered after a pause, quietly but decisively. "And, I want you to come with me."

A slight smile appeared on the corner of Makoto's lips. "Don't want to wait, huh? ...I don't either, to be honest. Let's go."

So once they approached the hill that led to both of their houses, they both took the turn towards Haruka's.

Makoto waited patiently outside of the bathroom door while Haruka followed the procedure for taking the test. Haruka's hands trembled as he carefully removed the test from its box. This simple, pocket-sized device held the power to inform Haruka of the most important news of his life. If he received a negative result, he would be disheartened, but refuse to give up hope and wait anxiously to take another test. If the result was positive… Well, that's what he was praying for. Closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, Haruka did as was instructed.

"...Makoto," he called softly as he pulled his pants back up, fumbling with the button in his nervous state, "you can come in. ...I want to see the result together."

The door opened immediately yet carefully. The two of them didn't speak a word as they waited, the air heavy with anticipation. It seemed as though the seconds weren't ticking by fast enough, and a few times Haruka hallucinated a plus appearing on the little window. After two entire minutes had passed, Haruka began to wonder if he had purchased a faulty test.

Then suddenly, a result appeared. Haruka and Makoto held their breath.

Positive.

The test fell from Haruka's fingers. Taking a second to react, he scrambled to pick it back up, laying it across his shaking palms and staring at it incredulously. Both his and Makoto's jaws were agape, their eyes wide. Slowly, they peeled their gazes away from the test in order to look at each other. They grinned.

In an instant, they reanimated. Haruka dropped the test onto the counter and threw himself into Makoto's arms: something he had never done before even after becoming a more affectionate person. But this grand gesture didn't surprise Makoto; he was too happy at the moment and too shocked over the positive result to be surprised at anything else. He held Haruka close, throwing his head back and laughing, unconsciously giving and receiving kiss after kiss after kiss. "Do you see that, Haru? We're having a baby… We're really, truly having a _baby_ …!" he breathed. He opened his eyes to see that tears were trickling down Haruka's smiling face. When it came to his attention that he was also crying himself, he only laughed again.

"Thank you, Makoto… I… I'm so happy…" Haruka whispered against Makoto's lips, his voice light. Instead of responding, Makoto brought their lips together in another kiss, this one lasting for more than just a few seconds.

In the back of his mind, Haruka was aware of the risks. It was still early in his pregnancy, so there was the possibility of losing the baby; not to mention the colossal responsibility of becoming a parent… But that meant little to him right now. He was having a baby with the man he loved more than anything in the world, and that was all that mattered.

Nagisa's experience was very, very different from Haruka and Makoto's.

At the beginning, he felt confident about what he had done. A beautiful, precious little baby, just for him and his beloved Rei…! Plus, if he was pregnant, he would have a completely plausible excuse to drop out of school, and raising the child would give him a reason to never return again.

But as the days and weeks passed by, he began to realize the drasticity of the situation he was in. For starters, he had openly lied to Rei. He wouldn't blame him if he chose to never forgive Nagisa for deceiving him in such a way. It seemed that there were only two ways that Rei wouldn't find out that Nagisa had tricked him: A) he had failed to get him pregnant (which was very unlikely, what with Nagisa's extremely high fertility) or B) Nagisa aborted the baby before it became noticeable that he was pregnant. ...although, it was clear to him that he could never go through with the second option. Sure, if he went through with it soon enough, all he would be doing is removing a cluster of cells… But, it would be a cluster of cells created by _Rei_. And he could never harm anything that even partially belonged to Rei.

Of course there was also the entire prospect of being a parent. Nagisa and Rei were very, very young; only sixteen years old. Sure, they would each be seventeen by the time the baby (if there _was_ a baby) was born, that was still too young to have their lives completely organized, let alone be ready to raise a child by themselves. Nagisa was fantastic with kids, yes, but that was because he was still a kid himself. Plus, he wasn't even positive as to what Rei's opinion on children was. Kids seemed to love him just fine… But that didn't necessarily mean he wanted one of his own.

Nagisa was terrified and full of regret.

He did his best to keep his worries to himself. He acted like his typical cheerful, rambunctious self, and nobody seemed to notice that anything was wrong; after all, Nagisa had experience with honing the skill of faking a smile. However, about a month after he had tricked Rei into having sex with him, he simply could not take the anxiety any longer. He needed answers. So he took a detour on the way home from school, and stopped to buy a pregnancy test.

If he took the test at home, he feared that someone would find it in the garbage. Consequently, he decided it safest to take it in a public restroom. He disregarded that doing so was strange and unsanitary: he was desperate to just get it over with. So he locked himself in a stall in the restroom of a nearby fast food restaurant, hastily ripped open the box, and followed the procedure as quickly as possible.

He crossed his fingers and closed his eyes tightly as he waited for a result. His "period" was a little over a week late, and he had bought one of the most accurate tests available, so he felt confident that the result would be reliable. _Negative… Negative… Negative…_ he pleaded silently, his heart thudding against his chest.. He bit his lip until it drew blood. Then, after several minutes that felt like several hours, something appeared. He opened his eyes wide and stared at the test for a moment.

Nagisa immediately began to sob.

Nagisa and Haruka, completely unbeknownst to each other, were both about two months pregnant at this point in time. Haruka and Makoto decided to wait a few days before they made their announcement to their friends, when their personal excitement had calmed down just a bit; on the other hand, Nagisa had taken his test nearly three weeks ago… and had yet to tell even Rei.

After wiping away his waterfalls of tears in the stall of that restaurant bathroom, Nagisa made a decision: he would keep his pregnancy a secret until he was given a distinct reason to bring it up. He knew, now, that Rei would be absolutely furious with him when he found out, and Nagisa had no idea how he would be able to handle having the love of his life suddenly detest him. So, he wanted to preserve their state of innocent bliss for as long as possible.

However, he overestimated his own acting abilities.

As usual, Rei and Nagisa had taken the train and were now walking the rest of the way home from school. The abnormal part was that thus far, the journey had been completely silent. The typically chatty Nagisa hadn't spoken a word on the train, and even now that they were alone, he seemed to have nothing to say. Even when Rei awkwardly attempted to spark a conversation, Nagisa's responses were dull and they trailed off quickly. It was beginning to make Rei uncomfortable.

The reason behind Nagisa's speechlessness was that he was exhausted. He had started off the day with an awful spout of morning sickness, and made the mistake of deciding to go to school and act as if he was feeling fine. However, pretending to be energetic was even more tiring than actually _being_ energetic, and so by the end of the day, his energy had been completely depleted.

Rei knew that whenever Nagisa acted suspicious, asking him what was wrong would only result in a smile and a "Nothing!" So, he had another idea.

"...Nagisa…" he murmured in a tone he rarely used; one that was low and suggestive.

It caught Nagisa's attention. "Hmm?" The moment he turned his head, Rei leaned down and swiftly stole a kiss.

Nagisa's face flushed red, his eyes wide in surprise. "Rei-chan…!" he squeaked. Slowing his walk, Rei raised an eyebrow suggestively and trailed his hand from the back of Nagisa's head, to his neck, across his back, and down his waist. It made Nagisa's body shiver with pleasure; but his mind knew that this wasn't normal. Rei never initiated gestures like this, especially not in public… They continued to slow down until they came to a total stop, in front of an alleyway.

"...Rei-chan, you're acting really weird…" Nagisa remarked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Now you know how I feel." Pushing back his glasses, Rei reverted to his natural sophisticated persona. "You're the one who has been acting weird, Nagisa."

Nagisa's heart suddenly began to beat faster. Rei was onto him… Had he slipped up? Or had Rei just grown more perceptive? Either way, he couldn't let Rei know that something was wrong. "Whaaaat? How'm I acting _weird_? You're being silly…" He let out a nervous laugh.

"No, I am not being 'silly.' Something has been off about you for weeks now," Rei insisted. He turned his body fully towards Nagisa and crossed his arms. "Mostly, it feels as though you've been much less of a pest than usual. It's been quite a while since you've begged me to go on a date with you, or kissed me in front of a crowd of people, or made an unwholesome remark about my back side…"

"Aww, does Rei-chan want attention? Don't worry, I still think you have a reeeeally nice booty~" Nagisa grinned flirtatiously. _Relax, Nagisa… You've got this! Just keep smiling and laughing,_ he told himself frantically.

"Nagisa. I'm being perfectly serious. If something is the matter, you don't need to keep it to yourself… Do you not trust me?"

The grin immediately faded from Nagisa's face. "I-!" The words got caught in his throat. He did trust Rei; God, he trusted him with his life. But Rei had absolutely no reason to trust him. ….he needed to do it. He couldn't hide it any longer, Rei had every right to know… If he needed a clear reason to reveal his secret, this was certainly it. Drawing in a quivering breath, Nagisa closed his eyes and uttered, "...I'm pregnant."

"Pardon-?" Rei's voice lacked any shock or disgust; only simple curiosity. He hadn't heard Nagisa, was all.

"I'm-" No. He couldn't do it. It took enough strength to say it once; there was no way Nagisa would be able to force the words out of his mouth _twice_. His voice broke, his eyes bulged, and he started to sob.

Rei's eyes widened with concern, and he immediately pulled Nagisa into a gentle hug. "Oh, Nagisa…! Shhh… It's alright…"

"No it isn't!" Nagisa shrieked, wiggling out of his love's arms. There was no anger in his expression despite his sharp tone; only shame and sorrow. "Rei-chan… Rei… I'm sorry… I'm so, _so_ sorry…" he cried into his own hands, his shoulders heaving with each sob.

Even though Nagisa had just shoved him away, Rei didn't look the least bit offended; he only looked more worried. "What on earth for…? Nagisa, what-"

"I'm _pregnant_!"

Rei froze. "...you're… what?" he whispered dangerously. This time, there was no curiosity in his tone. He had clearly heard Nagisa. Instead of repeating himself, Nagisa cried harder. "...Nagisa… That isn't funny at all. I'm being serious, here," Rei told him in a stern, warning voice.

"I'm not kidding…!" Nagisa insisted pathetically.

Every ounce of gentle concern had drained out of Rei's expression. "...is this because of what we did after that study date? When you spent the night?" Nagisa nodded weakly. "...you told me we didn't need protection, Nagisa."

Rei's tone was cold and accusational, and it pierced Nagisa like a knife. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Rei, I lied to you… I know I lied, and I know that was really really awful of me… I'm _sorry_ …" he whimpered desperately.

"Why?" The dark apathy in Rei's voice made Nagisa feel very small. He flinched as Rei reached out and grasped his shoulders. "Why would you lie about that? Did you _want_ this to happen? Answer me, Nagisa! Why would you WANT to get PREGNANT?!" His volume increased with each inquiry until he was practically screaming at the tearful blonde.

 _"I was being stupid!_ " Nagisa shouted back at him. Although the tears were not stopping, he was gradually gaining control of himself. He continued to avoid Rei's stare. "I… I just love you a lot, and I… I really wanted to stop going to school… And… And… I just… had a really stupid idea… And thought it was really good…. Um…" he sniffled.

After a few moments, Rei let out a deep sigh. When Nagisa glanced up at him, he saw that the dangerous expression was gone from his face, and he was rubbing his temples fervishly. "...I can't believe this… I can't believe it, Nagisa… What were you _thinking_? I don't completely understand your motives, but surely there are other ways you could have done whatever it is you wanted to do… Ways besides getting _pregnant_! Do you know what a MASSIVE responsibility this is?! Being a parent is FAR from just playing a game of House. I know you aren't fond of school, but do you truly want to _drop out_? You'll never get a respectable job if you don't even have a _high school degree_! Do you know what a major financial toll having a child creates?! Your health insurance may cover the visits to the doctor , but you'll still need to buy special vitamins… Not to mention after the child is born, you'll need to buy it clothing, and food, and furniture for a nursery, and eventually pay for schooling... And what about me? Did you even for _one moment_ consider how this would affect _my_ life?!" he lectured furiously.

Rei's tone wasn't as harsh as it just had been, but it was still heated enough for Nagisa to flinch as he spoke. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I-I get that you hate me now…"

Rei paused for a moment, wearing a flabbergasted expression. "...hate you? Who ever said that I hate you, Nagisa?" Slowly, his face softened and his breathing calmed, and he reached out to place a gentle hand atop Nagisa's head. "I don't hate you, Nagisa. I'm only…. frustrated. This alters my graduation plans drastically… My university of choice doesn't offer off-campus living, so now I'll need to find another one of quality that will allow me to come to and from my home… Even _before_ then, I'll need to rearrange my sleeping and studying schedule so that I can spend an appropriate amount of time with you and the baby, since it's going to be born while we- or _I_ \- am still in high school…"

"...w-wait… So you're… not, gonna leave me?" Nagisa whispered, staring at Rei in shock. Rei stared back at him incredulously.

"Leave you? Of course not, Nagisa… That would be a _horrible_ thing for me to do! This child is as much mine as it is yours, I can't just abandon it… ...and, it's as I've said before. You underestimate yourself too much. Do you think my love for you is so fleeting that I could leave you so suddenly? You must not realize it, but, I'm endlessly committed to you."

Nagisa felt his heart flutter in his chest. It was rare for Rei to say such sentimental things, so confidently… He wanted to respond with something equally romantic, or at least something grateful, but instead he asked a question that was somewhere in the back of his mind. "...do you… even _like_ babies, Rei-chan-?" Nagisa knew it was much too late to ask this, but he felt like if he was going to be having a baby with him, he should probably know how Rei felt about them.

Rei scratched his head. "Well, it isn't as if I _dislike_ them… ...besides. If it's our own, I'll _love_ it, won't I?" He mustered a slight smile, carefully taking Nagisa's hand in his. "Becoming a teenage father wasn't exactly in my repertoire… But I'm going to take responsibility for this. It's simply an unexpected challenge that I'm willing to accept."

Nagisa gazed up at Rei, tears brimming in his eyes again. But this time, they were joyful tears. "...I love you, Rei-chan… I really, _really_ do…"

Rei placed a small kiss on Nagisa's forehead in response. "Now let's get you home… I'll make some ramen for you. Oh, and remind me to stop at the library tomorrow…. I'll need to read up on parenting if I'm going to do this correctly."


	4. Chapter 4

Makoto spent the night at Haruka's house after Haruka discovered he was pregnant. They didn't do much sleeping, as they were both too overwhelmed at the news to feel the least bit tired. They spent a fair amount of time just crying and smiling in each others' arms in the bathroom, and once they dried their tears, Haruka threw away the test (after gazing at it one last time, as if to confirm that the result was in fact positive) and they migrated to Haruka's bedroom. There, they curled up on the bed and simply lay in silence for several minutes until Makoto said with an airy laugh, "..we're going to be parents."

This remark sparked a series of discussions that would last them into late hours of the night. Gender preferences (they immediately agreed that they would be content with either); possible names ("If you say 'Mackerel,' I'm sleeping downstairs,' Makoto teased, which earned a pout-scowl from Haruka); scheduling a check-up with the doctor, to make sure there was nothing wrong with the pregnancy; what they would do about finishing out high school, then Makoto's university education, then post-graduation jobs… But the topic that was most immediately of pressing importance was the question of how they were going to tell their friends and family.

"...we should tell the team, first," Haruka suggested when Makoto brought it up.

"Um, I was thinking we should start with my parents…" Makoto disagreed. His eyes widened in alarm, though, as he acknowledged the potential that their series of lighthearted yet extremely impactful discussions might turn into an argument. "But, if you would rather tell the team first-!" he quickly countered himself.

Haruka raised his eyebrows calmly. "That's a good idea, though. I agree with you; family first."

Makoto's body laxed with relief. "Oh-!" A contented smile appeared on his lips. "That's settled, then. We can tell the team immediately after we tell my parents…. ...oh, but what about _your_ parents, Haru-?" Makoto felt guilty saying that; he knew that Haruka's parents were a touchy subject, since they were never around for their son and Haruka had never been close to them. Still, they _were_ his parents, and so it was necessary to consider them.

"...I'll surprise them. When they come home in the summer," Haruka grumbled reluctantly.

"Are you sure about that…?" Makoto furrowed his eyebrows, concerned that maybe it would be a better choice for Haruka to inform his parents of the pregnancy ahead of time, instead of having them come home to see their son carrying a baby around.

"Yes," Haruka snapped. He didn't seem irritated or angry with Makoto; only certain about his decision. Makoto sighed quietly and smiled, unwilling to go against Haruka's word.

"Ooh! We should find time to tell Kisumi, too…" Makoto suggested suddenly.

Haruka scowled, the very sound of his old "friend's" name putting him in a bitter mood. "Do we _need_ to tell _him_ …" he grumbled.

"Alright, _I'll_ tell him," Makoto chuckled.

Haruka's scowl lightened into more of a pout, and then the pout faded into an apathetically thoughtful sort of expression. "...when we tell the team…" he murmured after a pause, "We'll have to ask Gou not to tell Rin." He seemed hesitant to finish his statement. "...I want to tell him myself."

Makoto tilted his head slightly, his content expression unchanging. "Makes sense to me," he agreed with a smile. A mild form of relief flickered in Haruka's eyes.

The silence that followed signified that their conversation had met a sufficient end. Neither of them spoke for several moments; eventually, Haruka let out a quiet yawn, and planted his forehead against Makoto's shoulder. Makoto automatically brought him into a gentle hug. "Are you _sleepy_ , Haru-chan?" he teased, gazing at his boyfriend with utmost affection.

"...drop the -chan, moron…" Haruka mumbled into Makoto's chest, his eyes drooping closed on their own accord.

"Did you call me a ' _moron_ '? How very, very _rude_ of you…" Makoto was only jokingly offended; he knew that it had gotten late (with a glance at his alarm clock he saw that it was well past midnight), and after finding out the biggest news of his lifetime, Haruka had to have been exhausted. Besides, Makoto was beginning to feel a yawn coming on, himself. "Let's get ready for bed, shall we?"

But Haruka had already fallen asleep. Chuckling adoringly under his breath, Makoto carefully slid out of the bed in order to turn off the lights. Not bothering to change into pajamas, he crept under the covers, making sure not to disturb Haruka as he pulled the blanket over the both of them. "I love you so much, Haru… Sweet dreams," Makoto murmured. He pressed a soft kiss to Haruka's forehead and wrapped his arms around him as gingerly as possible. Within minutes, he, too, had nodded off to sleep.

As opposed to being lost with sleep, their conversation from the night before was still fresh in Haruka and Makoto's minds when they awoke the following morning. It was a Saturday, so they took their time meandering out of bed and preparing for the day: they simply lay cuddling for several minutes upon waking, sitting up only once the sun was too bright for them to keep their eyes closed. Makoto drew up a warm bath for them while Haruka prepared a light breakfast. It was while they sat together in the tub that they decided that once they were dressed and clean, they would go next door to Makoto's house and make their first round of announcements.

"...are you nervous, Haru?" Makoto asked as their bath water drained away, combing his hair.

Haruka- brushing his teeth beside Makoto- raised his eyebrows questioningly, then gave a shake to his head and spit into the sink. He rinsed and used a towel to wipe the toothpaste off of his mouth, looking up at Makoto. "Your parents are understanding people."

"Hm, you're right…" Makoto agreed, but his tone and smile both seemed forcefully optimistic, with an uncertain air to them. Noticing, Haruka tilted his head slightly.

"Are _you_ nervous?"

Makoto's eyes widened in alarm. He wanted to defend himself, but, he knew he had been caught red-handed. "...well…" He scratched his cheek, which was flushed light pink in embarrassment. "I know they wouldn't do anything _drastic_ , like tell us to break up, or disown me…. But, I'm afraid that _because_ they care about us so much, they'll tell us that we made a mistake. And, I honestly don't want to have to argue with my mom and dad," he confessed.

Haruka considered that for a moment, then put away his toothbrush and said, "Then we'll just have to show them how dedicated we are to this."

Makoto was still a little hesitant, but he couldn't disagree.

The brief distance from Haruka's house to his own felt exaggeratedly lengthy to Makoto. Once they descended the stairs, Makoto felt as though he was still standing in the doorway, and it seemed to him that each step they took toward his front door pushed his home further and further away. It took less than a minute to step up to the porch, yet Makoto sweated as if they had walked for miles. He hesitated at the door, feeling as though he was visiting the house of complete strangers; he even almost rang the doorbell.

"..Makoto." The sound of Haruka's voice as Makoto reached a shaking hand toward the doorknob made him jump out of his skin. "You're a mess. Are you sure you're ready to tell them? Though, not that you have any reason to be scared. Because it's going to be fine."

Makoto gulped, wiping his palms on his pants. "I know… ...I know." He drew in a deep, slow breath, and flashed a teensy smile down at his boyfriend. "I'm sorry. I think I'll be alright…. I just needed a moment."

Haruka said nothing in response; but there was a reassuring sort of calm yet confident twinkle in his eye that helped Makoto relax just a little bit more. He gave Haruka's hand a gentle squeeze, and using the hand that he didn't take, Haruka opened the door.

As Haruka closed the door behind them, Makoto took a couple more calming breaths and then cleared his throat. "...Mom, Dad? Where are you?" He hoped his voice wasn't shaking.

"Living room!" came his father's voice.

"Kitchen, sweetie," his mom called over the sound of running water. She switched off the sink and called, "Is Haru with you?"

Makoto couldn't help but grin a little bit. "Of course." His face quickly sobered again. "...um, can we sit down? All four of us. The living room is fine… ...I- we- need to talk to you."

Even without being in the same room as them, Makoto could feel the concern appear on his parents' faces. Silently, his mother set down the dish she was washing and dried her hands on a towel, while his father folded up and set down his newspaper. Mrs. Tachibana joined Haruka and her son in the entranceway, and together they entered the room in which Mr. Tachibana was already sitting. Makoto's mother sat herself in the armchair beside her husband while Makoto and Haruka took the sofa across the room. It was just as Makoto had guessed: both of his parents wore expressions of evident worry.

"Honey, is everything okay…?" Mrs. Tachibana asked immediately, resting a hand over her heart.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine-!" Makoto reassured her quickly. His nerves from a few minutes earlier were gradually starting to reappear. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "...we just… have some news." He glanced down at Haruka as if to say, _Are you sure about this?_ , to which Haruka gave a small nod. Makoto gulped, sat up straighter, and looked seriously into his parents' faces. "...I don't want you to be upset with us. I understand that this is going to come as a big shock, and there are a _lot_ of risks and consequences involved… And it definitely might be true that we've made a horrible mistake. ...but..." His next words froze in his throat. _'Haru is pregnant_ ' just didn't feel right; to him, that gave the connotation that he was putting the blame on Haruka. So, after a moment of gathering up the courage, he declared, "...we're having a baby together."

Just as would be expected, he was met with a heavy silence as his parents' mouths fell agape. Their eyes darted from their son's face, to Haruka's, to Haruka's abdomen, back to their son. Makoto braced himself for a whirlwind of questions.

But they only asked one. "...have you already made an attempt?" Mr. Tachibana whispered while his wife clutched at her chest.

Makoto nodded slowly, his heart hammering in his ears. "We took a pregnancy test last night, and… He's two months gone…"

Slowly and carefully, Mrs. Tachibana relaxed her shoulders rested her hand on the arm of the chair. "You boys are both so, _so_ bright…" They both expected her to follow this with something along the lines of, _'So why would you do something so STUPID?'_ But they were wrong. "So… I trust that whatever decision you make has got to be the right one."

As Makoto and Haruka's jaws dropped, Mr. Tachibana nodded his head in agreement. "If you think you're ready to handle a baby, then, we're not going to stop you. We _will_ , however, be here for you whenever you need us."

" _Absolutely_ ," his wife seconded. "We'll help you boys through this, every step of the way. As long as you're both safe and happy. And, if you don't _want_ this baby-"

"We're keeping them," Makoto assured her quickly. His face flushed and he scratched his cheek. "...this wasn't an accident…" he murmured.

Mrs. Tachibana smiled softly; the gentle smile that her son had inherited. "Well, we're here for you." She stood from her chair and placed a soft kiss on each of the boys' heads. "I love you so much. _Both_ of you."

"Besides," Mr. Tachibana chuckled, "we already consider Haru a part of the family."

It was almost like Makoto was more surprised at his parents' calm response than his parents were to hearing the news. He opened his mouth but simply couldn't speak, so Haruka spoke up first. "...thank you…" he whispered, eyes shining with either relief, or tears.

"Yes, thank you…!" Makoto repeated. "...Mom, Dad… Really. Thank you so much-"

"MAKO'S HOME!" Ren and Ran suddenly burst into the room, wearing matching grins on their faces. However, when they saw the calm but serious expressions on their family's faces, the excitement disappeared from their expressions. "...what's goin' on?" Ren asked, looking around at everyone in the room.

"Your brother and Haru had something very important to tell us," Mr. Tachibana informed them with a smile. The twins gasped and turned their full attention to Makoto.

"Can you tell _us_?" they demanded eagerly. Makoto glanced at Haruka, then, with a gentle smile, stood and kneeled to their level. It felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders; sharing the news with his little siblings would be much less strenuous, now that the obstacle of his parents had been cleared.

"Ren, Ran… In a few months, you two are going to be an uncle and an aunt," he murmured, resting his hands on their shoulders. They raised their eyebrows at each other, confused.

"Huh? But… We're too YOUNG for that!" Ran argued. Makoto chuckled.

"Well, Haru and I aren't that young…"

Ran crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows together. " _Wait_. But to be an aunt and uncle, doesn't that mean _you_ have to have a baby?"

" _Dummie_ , that's the point! Mako and Haru-chan are having a BABY!" Ren gave his sister a smack on the arm and rolled his eyes matter-of-factly. Ran gaped.

"Is that true-?!" she asked Makoto frantically, her eyes darting between him and Haruka.

"Mhm, it sure is! Right now, there's a little baby in Haru-chan's tummy." Haruka coughed awkwardly at Makoto's word choice, but Makoto only smiled and ignored him.

"Ew…" the twins groaned in unison, their faces contorted with disgust and bewilderment. However, after a few seconds, the deeper meaning of their brother's news seemed to dawn on them, and they suddenly regained the excitement they had entered the room with.

"Mako and Haru-chan are having a _baby_!" Ran repeated after her brother, bouncing up and down. "It's going to be so _cute_!"

"I'm gonna be an _uncle_!" Ren laughed.

"And I'll be an _aunt_! We can snuggle with the baby…"

"And play peek-a-boo!" Grinning from ear to ear, the twins hurried to give big hugs to their brother and Haruka; Ran even gave Haruka's stomach a little pat, which simultaneously revolted and amused him.

As the twins skipped around the room singing "Little tiny baby, little tiny baby," Makoto caught Haruka's eyes. They smiled at each other, and almost shared a kiss until they realized that Makoto's entire family was right there in the room. But still, both of them felt a substantial amount of happiness welling up inside of them: not only had their first round of breaking the news gone exceptionally smoothly, they also gained further reassurance that they were not alone in the journey ahead of them.

Haruka and Makoto spent the weekend feeling relatively excited and confident about their situation. They had successfully informed someone of the pregnancy, and now had the support of Makoto's parents! However, as the following Monday approached and the reality of breaking the news to their friends dawned on them, they (well, mostly Makoto) began to grow nervous again.

After a day of attempting to act natural, the couple decided they would make their announcement at the very beginning of swim practice. Arriving first, they waited, slightly anxiously, in the locker room until Rei and Nagisa got there, entering the room hand-in-hand. Makoto stood up the moment they walked in; Haruka stayed seated on the bench. "You don't have to change into your swimsuits yet. We have to tell you and Kou something, first," Makoto told them, feigning his typical calm and leaderly smile. Rei and Nagisa exchanged a glance that only the two of them could interpret.

"That's kinda crazy, 'cause, Rei-chan and I have something to say, too!" Nagisa exclaimed. He smiled his perfected artificial smile, but Rei's expression was lined with apprehension.

"I believe Kou is already by the pool…" Rei remarked, gazing off to the side so as to not make eye contact with either of his seniors. Noting his discomfort, Nagisa pouted in concern and gave Rei's hand a reassuring squeeze. Rei squeezed it back.

Gou raised a skeptical eyebrow when the team came outside wearing their school uniforms. "Where are your swimsuits?" she asked them, crossing her arms lightly over her chest.

Letting out a light laugh, Makoto scratched the back of his head apologetically. "Sorry, I asked them not to change out… ...we have some announcements to make." The annoyance in Gou's demeanor quickly faded, and she dropped her arms to her side with a look of concerned curiosity on her face.

"Um, you and Haru-chan can go first!" Nagisa offered when Makoto looked at him like, _Would you like to speak first-?_ "You looked really ready to talk when we got here, sooo, we can wait." In actuality, Nagisa had misinterpreted Makoto's anxiety as eagerness; but Makoto wasn't going to tell him that. They had to make the announcement sooner or later… No sense backing out now.

"...so… Haru and I… Well, we…" Makoto didn't understand why he was struggling so badly to get the words out. These were his best friends; they should be the easiest people to tell big news to… But for whatever reason, he was horrified. Sweating nervously, he groped the air for Haruka's hand, as he needed some form of support. "...um… We're-"

Haruka wrapped his fingers around Makoto's hand, and finished his sentence for him. "-having a baby."

Just like Makoto's parents, their initial response was silence. "... _huh?_ " It was uncertain whether Gou truly hadn't made out what Haruka said, or if she just wasn't understanding his words. Haruka sighed silently.

"I'm pregnant."

Their friends reacted now, as if someone had hit play on a paused movie. With a sound combining a shriek and a gasp, Gou's eyes bulged and her hands flew to cover her mouth, which had fallen agape. "A… baby… You're… You guys… _HUH?!_ " she screeched.

However, her sudden state of immense surprise still paled in comparison with the shock on Rei and Nagisa's faces. The peculiar thing was that mixed into their wide-eyed, open-mouthed expressions of disbelief, was clearly some… relief. "...is that… true, Haruka-senpai…? Makoto-senpai…?" Rei whispered in a tone of anticipation. It seemed as if he was waiting for a justification to the excitement that he was currently restraining.

Those few words seemed to have been enough talking for Haruka; Makoto took over again, now that the main point was made. "We found out Friday evening… Two months pregnant," Makoto confirmed.

Rei and Nagisa stared at each other in awe; and then, relief with a sprinkle of delight rushed into their expressions like water from a broken dam. "Oh, my god!" Nagisa squealed before Makoto, Haruka, or Gou could ask what was going on. Nagisa's eyes darted back and forth between Haruka and Makoto, sparkling excitedly- or perhaps those were just the tears welling up in them- and then landed on Haruka. "I… I'm pregnant, too, Haru-chan!"

Now it was Makoto and Haru's turn to be shocked (meanwhile, poor Gou seemed as though she was about to faint). "...oh, Nagisa… How did…?" Makoto gasped airily.

"A few months ago, school was making me really sad so I thought that if I had a baby, I could drop out… But even though I know that was a really bad idea now, I don't wanna get rid of the baby, so Rei-chan and I are gonna keep it!" Nagisa explained, smiling widely but wiping at his eyes as tears began to fall.

Nobody knew what to say; one pregnancy within their group of friends was a life-changing phenomenon, but _two_ pregnancies… It was so unlikely that there simply weren't any words for it.

At least an entire minute passed without any talking: just various sounds, including Gou's failed attempts at finding something to say, Nagisa crying and hiccuping against Rei's arm, and Makoto sighing in amazement. Eventually, Gou seemed to string some words together. "...well, I…. guess, congratulations, you two…?" she managed in a baffled tone. Haruka and Nagisa both thanked her- Haruka under his breath, Nagisa in a squeak. However, Gou gradually composed herself, and as she did so, her bewildered face sobered. She then verbalized the question that was pressing at the back of all of their minds: "...but what are we going to do about the swim team?"

Her mildly grim expression was now mirrored on all of the Iwatobi boys' faces. It was an obvious question to consider, and it _had_ crossed their minds; but the boys had done their best to ignore it as best they could. Nonetheless, now the elephant in the room was staring them in the faces, and they were left with no choice but to discuss it.

They stood in silence for several moments, individually thinking over the scenario. Then, it seemed like everyone had the same idea, as all eyes suddenly turned to Nagisa: the one who formed the club in the first place.

He seemed to shrink under everyone's gaze. "...w-what?"

"Well… You were the first one to start recruiting people when the club formed, right? Do you think we could recruit two more people before you and Haru have to leave the team?" Gou's tone was calm, but it almost had an accusatory undertone. It made Nagisa feel even smaller.

After a few seconds, Nagisa gave a hesitant shake to his head. "...well, honestly, no… Especially not anyone as good as Haru-chan…"

The atmosphere was growing heavy, because they all knew he was right. "...and also, although this may be childish of me…" Rei added, adjusting his glasses and furrowing his eyebrows, "I really don't think I could be part of a team without the four of us. It just… wouldn't feel right…"

"No, I feel the same way…" Makoto sighed as Nagisa quickly nodded in agreement. But this still didn't seem to provide a solution for the problem at hand.

"...I want to swim for as long as possible," Haruka murmured.

Gou pursed her lips together in thought. "...how about this," she finally proposed. "Let's keep the club together until the tournament next month. If Haru and Nagisa are still able to race by then, we'll enter. If not, then, we'll disband the club before we register for the tournament. That way, we can still use the pool for at least another month."

The Iwatobi boys all looked at each other, then eventually back at Gou. It was logical enough, and it wasn't as if any of them could think of an alternative… So, it was unanimously agreed that they would keep the club together only until Haruka and Nagisa were too pregnant to race safely. It was clear that none of them were exactly _happy_ about ending the Iwatobi Swim Club; especially not Gou. In fact, it looked as though she was restraining herself from ripping out her hair or bursting into tears. Yet, she wasn't _mad_ at her friends, only… shocked. The thought of them becoming teen fathers never even crossed her mind….. But she wasn't mad.

"I'm surprised, though, Haru. Getting into a situation that will make it so you can't swim for a while…" Gou commented as they stood in silence, only partially teasing.

"...I don't like swimming competitively, anyway," Haruka mumbled.

Now the only people left to tell (immediately, at least) were Rin and Kisumi. Originally, Makoto intended to wait until the weekend to get together with Kisumi; however, the more he thought on it, the more eager he became to tell him sooner (after clearing the hurdles of his parents and swim team, Makoto finally felt confident about delivering the news). So, he called his old friend and arranged to meet up at a coffee shop on Wednesday evening.

After ordering their beverages (neither of them actually got coffee; Makoto ordered hot tea with sugar and honey while Kisumi ordered a strawberry milkshake), the two boys made casual conversation, catching up on some of the basics of their high school and family lives. It was when their drinks arrived that Makoto decided to introduce the purpose of this outing. "...so, there's something big I need to tell you."

Kisumi raised his eyebrows as he sipped his milkshake. "Hm? Well, I'm all ears, Mako-chan."

Makoto drew in a deep breath. He was fairly confident that Kisumi would support them no matter what… He only had to tell him. "I told you that Haru got the artificial womb surgery, right-?"

"Yup!" Kisumi nodded, chewing on his straw. "Texted me the day he got it done."

"...well, you see… Now, he's… ...we're having a baby together."

The straw slipped out from between Kisumi's lips and swirled around the brim of the cup. For a few seconds, he only stared at Makoto. "...like… Now?"

Makoto gave a small nod to his head. "Haru's about two months pregnant." The words felt strange on his tongue. Even though he had already made the announcement twice before, he was still wrapping his head around the fact that he and Haruka were truly having a baby together.

Kisumi just sat there, blinking. After a moment, he whistled. Then he slowly grinned. "...to be honest, I never thought the two of you would ever have sex. I mean, you're such a baby, and Haru's such a prude…"

Makoto's cheeks heated up and he took an embarrassed sip of his tea. "Haru isn't a prude-! ...it was _his_ idea, actually…"

Kisumi let out a laugh. "Whoa there, Mako-chan, I didn't need to know which one of you kickstarted your sex life."

"That isn't what I meant-!" Makoto gasped in a horrified whisper, blushing deeper and choking on his tea. "I meant, having a baby was Haru's idea…"

With a light chuckle, Kisumi's grin softened and he took another sip of his milkshake. "I know, I know… ...why didn't you guys wait until after you graduated, though? I mean, it's your third year…"

Recovering from his embarrassment, Makoto shrugged slightly. "Haru seemed to have his heart set on starting a family as soon as possible… And you know how stubborn he is."

Chuckling again, Kisumi nodded a couple times. "So then, are you going to drop out before you graduate?"

"Well, I know _I'm_ not going to… And I still plan on going to university, too. Haru has never really been serious about school, so, we're thinking he's just going to drop out once he gets farther along. ...and as for how we plan to balance school with the pregnancy, and then the baby…" He scratched his cheek with one finger, giving a lopsided smile. "We're still working out the details. But we'll figure it out…"

"Hey, I'm sure you will." Kisumi smiled. "So, have you been to the doctor yet? To make sure this is the real deal?" Kisumi asked. Makoto's eyes widened slightly, his heart skipping a beat; they had considered that a doctor's examination could prove the test result wrong, but, they were so caught up in the thrill of the test being positive that it seemed set in stone…

"...well, no… But, we did make an appointment for this weekend." A pain pulsed in Makoto's chest as he imagined being told that the test was mistaken, and Haruka wasn't actually pregnant. He could barely make the words out, because he understood the weight of their truth. "...so if it... doesn't go well, I'll let you know…"

Noticing the change in Makoto's demeanor, Kisumi gave his foot a reassuring nudge under the table. "Well, if it _does_ work out… Promise to make me the godfather when the baby's born, alright?" he teased with a wink. That made Makoto smile a little.

"I would love to, but I'm not too sure how Haru would feel about that…"

"I know, I know~" Setting his milkshake down, Kisumi reached across the table and rested his hand atop Makoto's. "But seriously, it'll probably fine. Those pregnancy tests don't normally come up positive when they're not supposed to, y'know? And no matter what happens, rest assured that your buddy Kisumi has your back."

Shoulders relaxing, Makoto smiled gently. "Thank you, Kisumi… It means a lot."

"Don't mention it, Mako-chan. What are friends for?"

Haruka, impartial to moping at home alone while Makoto was rendezvousing with Kisumi, was waiting in the Tachibana household for Makoto to return home. He was playing cards with the twins when Makoto arrived. The moment he heard the door open, Haruka abandoned his deck and hurried (not too quickly, though- he didn't want to seem like an abandoned puppy) to greet his boyfriend. "Welcome home," he said calmly as Makoto took off his shoes and hung up his coat. He smiled at Haruka.

"You smell clean… Did you use my shower?"

A subtle blush swept across Haruka's cheeks and he glanced off to the side. "...your mom said I could."

Laughing lightly, Makoto pecked Haruka's lips and then took him upstairs.

"...so how'd it go." Haruka kept his voice flat in order to avoid any bitterness. Not that Makoto would have been surprised or offended to hear venom in his tone; he knew perfectly well how Haruka felt about Kisumi. He smiled anyway.

"Really well! He was a little surprised, of course, but he also promised to be there for us no matter what happens," he explained cheerily, kneeling in front of his dresser and pulling out a set of pajamas.

"Great," Haruka mumbled quietly enough that Makoto couldn't hear him.

"Now the only person left to tell is Rin!" Although Makoto's tone was cheery, Haruka received his words like an icy breeze. He tensed, and the change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed. Makoto's smile faded and he gently got to his feet. "...do you want me to tell you for him?" he offered softly.

"No," Haruka insisted. The quickness of his response made Makoto jump slightly. Haruka stared at his feet. "...I'll tell him."

Makoto bit his lip uncertainly. "...alright… Well, I'm going to get a quick shower and brush my teeth, okay?"

"Okay..."

Makoto pressed a careful kiss to Haruka's forehead before slipping out of the room and down the hall.

Sighing quietly, Haruka fell back against the bed. His friendship with Rin was… complicated, at this point in time. Rin had certainly changed since he first returned to Japan: he had recovered a lot of the spirit he had when they were children, and had become an all-around friendly and hardworking guy. He had righted all of the wrongs he had created after coming back from Australia- including his tarnished friendship with Haruka. Yet, at the end of the day, both of them had to admit that their friendship was not flawlessly mended. There were still a few small cracks to be filled, and it would be a while yet until things were 100% fine between them.

Haruka felt tired. He considered getting under the covers and trying to fall asleep while Makoto was in the shower; however, a sort of tugging feeling in his chest made it clear that it would be impossible to go to sleep now. Before leaving practice the prior Monday, Makoto had made sure to ask Gou not to mention the pregnancy to Rin, because Haruka wanted to tell him himself. Haruka had overheard him make this request, and hearing it come from Makoto made him feel like no he had no choice but to commit to it. He had to do it… He had to tell Rin… And at the moment, it felt like it was now or never.

He sat up and retrieved his cell phone from the bedside table. According to the clock, it wasn't unreasonably late; only 7:15... He dialed Rin's number.

Rin didn't answer until the final ring before the call would have gone to voicemail. "Ah, hey, sorry it took so long to answer… I'm a little busy right now." Haruka's eyes widened slightly, and he wondered if he really would have to wait to tell him, but then Rin added, "What's up, Haru? Need something?"

He didn't sound particularly rushed or upset; still, Haruka had the common courtesy to make the conversation brief so Rin could return to whatever he was doing. Besides: it would probably be better to get it over with quickly… "I just wanted to tell you something." He closed his eyes, and let the words escape his mouth. "I'm pregnant."

Haruka couldn't see Rin's face on the other line, but he could imagine his shocked expression clearly in his head. "...you're… Wait, what-?!" he spluttered. Haruka could feel his heartbeat quicken softly.

"I'm pregnant," Haruka repeated. "Two months gone, I took a test on Friday. Makoto and I are going to the doctor on Saturday to make sure," he explained in a level tone.

On the other line, Rin ran a hand through his hair, mouth opening and closing like a beached fish gasping for air. "...pregnant… Uh… Are you, keeping it-?" he managed to get out.

Haruka's eyes widened in alarm. "Of course," he snapped immediately, horrified at the very prospect of getting rid of his child with Makoto.

"Right, uh, sorry… ...um, congratulations-?" Rin struggled to put the simple words together.

"Yeah… Thanks."

Silence. Haruka considered hanging up there, but then he realized there were a couple other things he should probably mention first. "...Nagisa is, too. With Rei's."

Rin was barely even drawing in a breath, yet he choked hard enough to induce a brief coughing fit. "Seriously…?! ...geez, is there something in the water at Iwatobi…?"

Haruka casually disregarded Rin's feeble joke. "We're going to have to disband the swim team."

"Oh… I guess so, huh-? That's a shame… But, that's probably for the best, with your, uh, circumstances…"

"Yeah."

Another uncomfortable pause. "...well, uh… I have to go, but, we can talk later, okay? About, uh, this."

The thought of further discussing this topic with Rin at first unnerved Haruka, but after considering it for a moment, it was also sort of relieving. Regardless of their damage, Rin and Haruka _were_ best friends. Once he came to terms with it, Haruka was sure Rin would be willing to help him and Makoto out. "...yeah."

Neither of them said good-bye; they just hung up, both feeling undeniably awkward.

For a moment, Haruka just stared at his phone. ...he did it. Everyone that really needed to know about his pregnancy- except for Coach Sasabe, Ms. Amakata, and perhaps a few others- now knew. Sighing softly, Haruka powered off his phone, and crawled under the sheets.

Meanwhile, Rin slowly set his phone on the ground beside his bed, trying to comprehend the conversation he had just had. Haru… and Nagisa… were _pregnant_? Now? In high school?

"What did Haru-senpai want….?"

Currently, Rin was alone in his dorm with Aiichirou- and both of them were half naked. Today was their one-year anniversary, and Sousuke agreed to switch rooms with Aiichirou for the night, to commemorate the special occasion. Originally, their plan had only been to sleep in the same bed, so as to spend as much time together as possible on the night that marked the first year of their relationship; but after just a few minutes of laying in each others' arms, they developed… other desires. They had just stripped out of their shirts and were kissing softly yet passionately when Rin's phone rang.

"...he's…" Rin shook his head; he didn't want to think too much about that now. This was his time with Aiichirou, and he was going to dedicate every second of his attention to the boy sitting before him. "I'll explain later. But, for now…" A gentle smirk curled on the corners of Rin's lips. "Where were we?" he murmured. Those words seemed to wipe the memory of the suspicious phone call he had just witnessed from Aiichirou's mind. Squirming in quiet excitement, Aiichirou closed his eyes lightly and tilted his head, inviting Rin to access his neck. Rin didn't hesitate to start laying kisses and nips on the tender skin. Aiichirou gave little whimpers of pleasure while gently gripping his boyfriend's shoulders, as Rin pulled him closer by his waist and grew more passionate in the necking. It was likely that Aiichirou would wake up with marks on his skin.

Rin slipped his hands away from Aiichirou's waist and began trailing them over his pale body. Eventually, they made their way back downward, to Aiichirou's crotch. Still sucking on Aiichirou's neck, he fumbled blindly with the waist of his pajama pants and tugged them down, revealing his underwear. Just as he made to remove them, as well, Aiichirou gave a gasp of protest and flinched away from Rin's touch. When Rin opened his eyes and sat back in alarm, he saw that Aiichirou's eyes were closed tightly and nervously.

"Ai, are you alright-?" Rin froze as a horrible thought crossed his mind: had he subconsciously gone too far? Did he misinterpret Aiichirou's frightful whimpers as sounds of pleasure? Was he mistaken about how far Aiichirou wanted to go, and just pushed his boundaries by trying to undress him?

Slowly, Aiichirou opened his eyes; but he still didn't look at Rin. "...um… I'm scared," he whispered. Rin suddenly felt a wave of guilt crash over him.

"...oh, my god, Ai, I didn't mean-"

"No-!" Aiichirou interjected, looking up at Rin with wide eyes. "...it's just…" He bit his lip and hunched his shoulders, seeming to shrink in on himself. "...I'm afraid of getting pregnant."

Rin's heart skipped a beat. Had Aiichirou actually heard his conversation with Haruka-? After all, Rin did utter the word "pregnant" out loud… Or, had Aiichirou been considering this beforehand? If that was the case, did whatever Aiichirou overheard trigger this worry? Still, after just a few seconds, Rin managed to calm himself down. "...you won't get pregnant, Ai. I'll make sure to, you know… Pull out. And I'm going to use protection; I have a condom right here," he assured him gently. To prove himself, he reached into the pocket of his own pajamas and removed an unopened condom. Aiichirou stared at it for a moment, then glanced back up at Rin.

He spoke hesitantly. "...why did you already have condoms-?"

Flustered by the question, Rin's face flushed. "...well, I… wanted to be prepared, in case this happened," he admitted. The blush on his cheeks was quickly mirrored on Aiichirou's, and he gasped a soft "oh-!" under his breath. Rin cleared his throat and slipped the condom back into his pocket, a little embarrassed now.

"...but… But what if you don't pull out in time? Or the condom breaks?" Aiichirou reasoned nervously.

Responding to Aiichirou's anxiety, Rin quickly composed himself and resumed a comforting demeanor. He reached out and gingerly pressed his hand against Aiichirou's cheek. He half expected him to flinch away; but instead, Aiichirou leaned into his touch and even rested his own hand atop Rin's. "Well, then… We'll just have to get through it, you know? Cross that bridge when we get there." He flashed a warm smile, and he felt Aiichirou's tension loosen a bit. However, he still seemed a little unconvinced. Rin's smile faded slightly and he carefully removed his hand. "...but if you really are scared… I'm not going to force anything on you. If you're not ready, I can wait."

At the moment, Rin and Aiichirou were both virgins. They had discussed sex before, and done sexual things- heavy touching, naked kissing… But this would be their first time going _all the way_. Although it was suppressed by the increasingly strong sexual desire both of them were currently feeling, they were nervous. Even though they agreed that they wouldn't want to lose their virginities to anyone else, deep down, they felt natural uncertainties.

But they were already so close, and neither of them really wanted to stop now.

"No-! No, I'm… I'm ready," Aiichirou insisted. He paused, then added," I've wanted to do this for... a really long time. I _love_ you. So, um…." Relaxing his body, Aiichirou shimmied all the way out of his pants, then took Rin's wrists and placed his hands on his own waist. He gazed into Rin's eyes, blue into red, and whispered in an innocent yet somehow incredibly sexual tone: "Please take me, Senpai."

The heat in Rin's lower regions suddenly intensified. Being in such close proximity to such a beautiful boy, and knowing he was the object of his affection, made _Rin_ become the nervous one. "...oh, holy shit…" They then dove into each other as if their bodies were pools.

When Sousuke returned to his room the following morning, he swore that he could hear the two of them from all the way across the dorms.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin and Sousuke were quality roommates to each other. They left each other alone when either of them didn't want to be disturbed; they respected each others' space; they studied together and lent each other things whenever asked; and because they were such close friends, sharing a dorm was just like hanging out with a brother every evening. They were very much content with their dormitory situation.

Aiichirou was not so fortunate.

Sousuke was doing math homework at his desk while Rin listened to music on his bunk, when there was a knock at the door. "Rin-? Can I come in…?"

It was Aiichirou's voice. Taking out his earbuds, Rin sat up and looked at Sousuke, silently requesting permission. Sousuke glanced over his shoulder and shrugged nonchalantly. Smiling almost excitedly, Rin stood and answered the door. "Hey, babe."

Judging by Aiichirou's scowling expression, Rin could see that something was bothering him. His demeanor lightened up at the sight of Rin's welcoming face, though it was still clear that he was irritated. He shuffled inside and plopped himself on Rin's bunk without saying hello to Sousuke. "What's wrong, Ai-?" Rin asked carefully, sitting beside him after closing the door. Aiichirou huffed.

"Momo. Momo is what's wrong." Rin raised his eyebrows, inviting him to elaborate. He didn't have to wait long for Aiichirou to continue. "I am sick and tired of that kid! He's so _noisy_ , and _obnoxious_ , and he's always getting into my things! I've tried to act like a mature senpai, but I can't _take_ it anymore. I can't STAND him!" he complained, digging his fingers through his bangs in frustration.

Rin pursed his lips. "I have to admit, having him on the team is kind of like babysitting a little kid," he agreed. Aiichirou fervently nodded his head.

" _Right_? I swear, he's got the maturity of an eight-year-old… In fact, I think he has the entire _mentality_ of an eight-year-old. I've tried helping him with his homework, but he always insists he knows what he's doing, even though he's COMPLETELY off on everything. It makes me so mad… Just about EVERYTHING he does makes me mad. I don't hate people very often, but Momo is-"

Aiichirou's agitated rambling was cut short by a sudden _crack_ from across the room. Jumping slightly, Aiichirou and Rin quickly turned their gazes in Sousuke's direction; and saw that he had snapped his pencil in half in his fist. Aiichirou's anger deflated and was quickly replaced with guilt. "Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry, Sousuke-senpai… I didn't mean to disrupt you while you were working-!" he apologized, eyes wide and one hand covering his mouth.

Sousuke gave a stiff shake to his head, setting the broken pencil down on his desk. "I was done, anyway." The atmosphere was uncomfortable as Rin and Aiichirou continued to stare at him while he closed his notebook and unzipped his bag. He paused before putting the book away. "...I just don't like hearing you talk about Momo that way," he admitted quietly.

Aiichirou dropped his shoulders. "...oh, um… I'm sorry…" This apology was considerably less sincere than his first had been. Sousuke shrugged, and silently slipped his homework into his bag. Rin raised an eyebrow suspiciously. It wasn't unusual for Sousuke to be quiet and awkward about things, but something felt… off. He got the feeling that his friend was hiding something.

It wasn't a feeling he could shake, so Rin decided he needed to bring it up. "...is something up, Sousuke?" he asked cautiously.

For a moment, it seemed as though Sousuke didn't intend to answer him at all. But after much hesitation, and without looking at him, he mumbled, "I… like Momotarou. You know. _That way_."

Neither Rin nor Aiichirou made an attempt to hide their shock: Rin's jaw dropped, and Aiichirou choked until he started coughing. Rin rubbed his back while still staring at Sousuke in disbelief. "...I… What? _Really_?"

Sousuke nodded reluctantly.

"...well, that's… Uh…" Rin struggled with his words. He was confused and surprised, and didn't understand what on earth Sousuke was thinking; but he still wanted to be a supportive friend. "...have you thought about confessing to him?"

"It's nothing important," Sousuke insisted quickly. He pushed away from his desk and climbed onto his bunk, looking straight ahead and not at Rin and Aiichirou.

It was clear that Sousuke didn't mean it; but it was also clear that he didn't want to talk about it, so Rin decided to leave the topic alone.

Aiichirou returned to his dorm with his head in a fog. Sousuke Yamazaki, his strong and cool senpai, had feelings for _Momo Mikoshiba_ , his childish and obnoxious roommate? _I guess love works in weird ways,_ he reasoned with himself.

Although, as much as the topic befuddled him, he was also quite curious about it. Aiichirou was just as drawn to gossip as any other high schooler would be, and even though Sousuke didn't seem to make a big deal out of the situation, Aiichirou wanted to see if it would escalate at all. He drew in a quietly determined breath as he closed the door behind him. "Hey, Momo?"

"Yessss, Nitori-senpai?" Momo immediately answered without looking up from the portable video game he was playing in his bunk.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Aiichirou leaned against the bedpost as casually as he could muster without seeming suspicious. "So, I was just wondering… What do you think about Sousuke?" Momo glanced up from his game, but only for a moment.

"You mean Yamazaki-senpai? Hmm… Well, he's cool!"

Aiichirou was mildly disappointed with Momo's uninterested response. He half hoped, half expected, that he would ask why he wanted to know; but when he didn't say anything else, Aiichirou decided to further provoke the conversation himself. "Because, you see…" He glanced around the room as if Sousuke might be lurking nearby. "I happened to overhear, that he has a _crush_ on you."

Once again, Aiichirou was let down by Momo's lack of reaction. "Huh? Who has a crush on me?" he asked absently, raising his eyebrows down at his game. Aiichirou was suddenly reminded of why exactly he felt so disdainfully toward his roommate.

" _Sousuke_ does. Yamazaki-senpai," Aiichirou repeated sternly. He was quickly beginning to wonder if it was even worth telling Momo this. Still, his curiosity was winning over his doubt.

Finally looking up from his game, Momo blinked a couple times, grinned, and then let out a short, amused laugh. "Oh he does, huh? Good one, Nitori-senpai! You little _weasel_."

Aiichirou felt a surge of immaturity overcome him. He spun around to face Momo directly, fists clenched and eyebrows furrowed. "I'm serious! He- ...I mean, um, one of the other third years, told me so!"

Momo rolled nonchalantly onto his stomach and returned his attention to his game. "Uh huh, sure! 'Cause Yamazaki-senpai is _totally_ gay for me… Are you forgetting that I don't swing that way, Nitori-senpai?" He pursed his lips as the character in his game lost a life.

Quite honestly, Aiichirou _had_ forgotten. Although it was true that Momo frequently talked about all the "chicks" he was into, it was hard to imagine that any of the Samezuka swim team boys were heterosexual.

A thought crossed Aiichirou's mind, then, that caused him to sober quickly and feel a wave of guilt wash over him. "...wait, did you know that Sousuke was gay-?" he asked hesitantly. Momo snorted.

"Wellll, I kinda figured. I mean, EVERYONE on this team is gay!" His leisurely expression abruptly turned startled. His fingers stopped moving on the knobs and triggers, and Aiichirou heard a robotic voice announce _"GAME OVER."_ Instead of getting upset, though, Momo swiftly turned off the game and stuffed the system into a bag at the foot of his bed. "Th-that is, everyone except for me. In fact, I'm probably the straightest guy on the team! I _love_ girls," he insisted suspiciously defensively. Aiichirou raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I gotta go pee!" Momo exclaimed before Aiichirou could comment, scrambling down the bunk ladder and hurrying out of the room. It was plainly obvious that Momo was hiding something, but Aiichirou decided to just let it go. He should have known better than to try to understand anything about that boy.

Neither Rin nor Aiichirou spoke to their roommates about Sousuke's potential crush for the rest of the night, or throughout the next day. However, that didn't mean the topic wasn't lingering in the back of their minds. So, when swim practice came around the evening after Sousuke's confession, Rin and Aiichirou couldn't help but pay more acute attention to how Sousuke acted around Momo. Although they had never noticed any behavior that may have suggested his affections, it was true that they didn't know about his crush on Momo until now, so maybe his actions were so subtle that one would only notice them if they were really paying attention. Perhaps Sousuke _did_ drop little hints, but nobody had scrutinized him enough to figure out what they meant...

They soon determined that this was not the case.

About thirty minutes into practice, Sousuke didn't so much as spare a glance at Momo. Yet, it didn't seem as though he was purposely avoiding him; he was simply not interacting with him, which was quite normal. Sousuke never had a reason to talk to Momo: they weren't necessarily friends, they didn't swim the same stroke, they weren't in the same year… Still, Rin couldn't help but feel that whether or not Sousuke wanted to act on his feelings for Momo, he should still at least try to talk to him.

"Oy, Sousuke," Rin called as Sousuke was pulling himself out of the pool. Shaking out his hair and sliding his goggles off, Sousuke raised an eyebrow and joined his friend off to the side. "So… I know you said your feelings for Momo aren't important, but I was thinking…" Rin briefly stopped himself when he noticed the immediate fall in Sousuke's expression. "Listen, I really think you should try talking to the kid. I'm not saying you should _flirt_ with him or anything… Although, if you think you might want to, go for it!" It was evident that this statement annoyed Sousuke greatly, so Rin quickly tried to recover himself. "Maybe you don't want to like him, I don't really know. But if you at least _care_ about him, I think it'd be a good idea to try to be his friend."

Sousuke was silent for a few seconds. "...is that all?"

"...well, yeah, that's all I wanted to say…" Rin blinked awkwardly as he felt an air of cold disinterest coming from Sousuke.

"Hm. Okay." At that, Sousuke slipped his goggles back over his eyes and returned to the pool. A bit baffled, Rin reluctantly resumed his own swimming.

From that point, practice continued just like any other day. Content with the steady progress of Samezuka's third years, Rin announced that for the last twenty minutes, the underclassmen could have the pool to themselves while their senpai wrapped up early. Just when it began to seem like things wouldn't get any more mixed up than that, a new development finally started to take place.

While the other third years got changed, Rin stayed by the poolside to monitor the underclassmen; he would wrap things up with them. It didn't take long for him to realize that he wasn't the only upperclassman still in his bathing suit. Watching the pool through his peripheral vision, he turned and asked, "Hey, Sousuke, aren't you going to get changed?" But Sousuke didn't hear him; he was too focused on a certain red-headed first year.

"Watch your form, Mikoshiba," he was calling calmly, arms crossed. Momo perked up at the sound of his name and paused in the middle of the pool, nearly causing a collision with the second year swimming behind him.

"Huh? What's wrong with my form, Yamazaki-senpai?" Momo demanded, raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips slightly.

Sousuke sighed silently. Glancing away, he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're swimming too spastically. Your arms are too far from your sides, and your back is arching too much; it barely looks like the backstroke. You're fast, yeah, but it looks wrong."

Momo blinked dumbfoundedly. "Whataya mean, Senpai?"

Knowing words would just be lost on him, Sousuke slipped into the pool and decided to show him. Momo jolted as Sousuke suddenly but gently placed one hand under his back and grabbed Momo's wrist with the other. "Hold yourself up like this, and keep your back straight. Feel the difference? When your arms hit the water, move them this way, not this way…"

For the next couple minutes, Sousuke guided and critiqued Momo, touching his body whenever necessary. At first, Momo protested, but as he grew accustomed to what Sousuke was saying, he found himself falling silent and simply nodding in response to his examples, his cheeks growing redder by the second (which went seemingly unnoticed by Sousuke). "There, just like that. Perfect. Think you can do that?" At this point, Momo was too flustered to speak, so he just nodded. "Good. Now show me."

"...thanks, Senpai," Momo managed to murmur as Sousuke released him and stepped away. His body was stiff, as if Sousuke's touches had locked every part of him in place with each touch. Melting under Sousuke's observant gaze, Momo swam to the other side of the pool as quickly as he could, preserving the form perfectly.

Aiichirou, who had witnessed this exchange from another lane, met eyes with Rin as he pulled himself out of the pool. They couldn't be certain, but it definitely seemed like Sousuke had just made a personalized attempt at flirting. And it seemed like Momo liked it.

Several days passed without any significant developments as far as Sousuke and Momo were concerned. Sousuke checked up on Momo's form at the beginning and end of each practice, and they nodded in greeting whenever they saw each other, but otherwise everything was exactly how it had been before Sousuke admitted he had feelings for the boy. Rin had asked Sousuke about his little training session with Momo as they headed back from practice that day, but Sousuke nonchalantly insisted that Momo's poor form was bothering him and he had to fix it. The blush on his cheeks said otherwise, but Rin decided it would be wise to leave it at that.

Momo, on the other hand, seemed quite shaken by the encounter. He gave his best effort at acting normal, but he was a terrible actor: whenever Aiichirou asked him anything remotely similar to "Is something wrong?" he would become ridiculously defensive, as if Aiichirou had flat out asked him, "Are you having sexual thoughts about Sousuke Yamazaki?"

But clearly, something _was_ wrong. And after about five days, Momo simply couldn't take it anymore.

When Aiichirou walked into his dorm after a date with Rin, Momo was sitting up waiting for him. "Nitori-senpai, I have to talk to you," he exclaimed before Aiichirou could even close the door behind him.

"...um… Sure thing, Momo." Clicking the door shut, Aiichirou shuffled into the room and sat on his bunk. Momo scurried down the ladder to sit beside him.

"Okay, so… I have something to tell you, and you have to _promise_ to keep it a secret." Momo bit his lip and twiddled his thumbs anxiously, staring down at his lap. Aiichirou's shoulders fell. He had never seen Momo this upset before… He managed a soft, reassuring smile.

"Mhm, I promise."

Momo took a deep, nervous breath. "...so, um… You know how like, everyone on the swim team is gay?" He barely gave Aiichirou time to nod. "Well, I'm, um… Sort of, well… I thought about it, and, uh-! ...I, _kinda_ like boys. I mean, I still like chicks, but-! I-!" Letting out a frustrated whine, he buried his face in his hands.

For a moment, Aiichirou just stared at him calmly. "So, you're bi?" Momo nodded hesitantly, seeming defeated. A smile slowly appeared on Aiichirou's face: he constantly wanted to be a mature senpai, and this was the perfect opportunity. He could have responded along the lines of "Yeah, it was pretty obvious" or a sarcastic "No way!", but instead he said, "That's great, Momo! I'm glad you trusted me enough to come out to me."

"Well, it's not like you'd be grossed out anything, since you're gay and all… And I had to tell _someone_ ," he mumbled.

"So, how did you come to this conclusion?" Aiichirou asked.

Still staring at his lap, Momo started poking his index fingers together, his cheeks turning red. "I've always kinda felt like I was… Like, somewhere in the back of my mind, I always had this _feeling_. But I didn't wanna believe it, so I always just denied it. ...but, ever since you told me Yamazaki-senpai apparently likes me… And he helped me out at practice the other day…" He gulped, squeezing his eyes shut as his cheeks burned. "I realized that I totally have a crush on him, and I _can't_ deny that."

Aiichirou laughed lightly: he had to admit, Momo was being rather cute at the moment. "Well, just so you know… I wasn't joking when I said I heard he likes you. I think you should ask him out!"

Momo's head snapped up, and he gazed at Aiichirou in wide-eyed terror. "No way!" he shrieked immediately. Aiichirou blinked, taken aback; after a few seconds, Momo relaxed slightly. "...I mean… I dunno, I just don't wanna rush into anything, y'know? I think I'll give it some time, wait until the moment's right."

Although he said this, things ended up working out quite differently.

After practice the following evening, Sousuke got changed quicker than the rest of the team. Rin had noticed something was different about him today: he seemed even more focused and quiet than usual. However, Rin was too busy to ask him what was up, and when he approached him in the locker room, Sousuke spoke up first before Rin could even open his mouth. "I'm going to do it," he told him. Rin tilted his head in confusion.

"...do, what-?"

Sousuke bit the inside of his cheek, slightly perplexed, but didn't answer. Instead, he turned and strode across the room towards Momo, while Rin watched in bewilderment. He leaned casually against the locker beside the redhead's, slipping his other hand into the pocket of his jeans. "Oy, Mikoshiba. ...Momo."

Momo jumped the moment Sousuke approached. "Uhh, yes, Yamazaki-senpai-?"

Sousuke coughed quietly, clearing his throat. "...so. Wanna go out with me?"

Aiichirou (who had the locker to the other side of Momo) and Rin both gaped in shock; still, they didn't look _half_ as baffled as Momo. His eyes bulged, his entire face grew as red as his hair, and his mouth was open so widely his jaw was practically unhinged. "I-I… Uh… Um, I…! _Sure_!" he spluttered. Sousuke nodded nonchalantly, even though he was blushing a fair bit himself and his heart was thudding a mile a minute.

"Cool. Talk to you tomorrow, then."

"...uh... Yup! See ya tomorrow, Yamazaki-senpai-?!"

"You can call me Sousuke."

Poor Momo was about to faint. "Sousuke-senpai…!"

When Sousuke returned to Rin's side, he gave his roommate a toothy grin. "So you _do_ like him," Rin teased.

"Shut up," Sousuke snapped. But his eyes were bright and there was a faint smile on his lips.

Makoto and Rei were becoming increasingly concerned for their boyfriends. As the weeks passed by, their upcoming tournament grew nearer and nearer, and Haruka and Nagisa's pregnancies grew more and more noticeable. They ate healthy diets (following recipes provided by Gou) and swam vigorously to stay as slim as possible, yet this did nothing to stop their tummies from swelling ever-so-slightly. They both acted like it was nothing, and practiced as if nothing was different, but Makoto and Rei could tell otherwise. And it made them horribly nervous.

A couple weeks before the tournament, Makoto arrived at practice earlier than the rest of the team. The only person at the pool was Ms. Amakata, but she was exactly who he was looking for, anyway. "Ms. Ama… I don't think Haru should swim in the tournament," he admitted hesitantly. "I know he's doing well and all, but… I'm worried. He's already pushing himself so hard in practice, and he's only going to try even harder when it gets closer to the actual thing. I don't want him to hurt himself, or the baby…"

Ms. Amakata gave him a sad smile, looking up from the book she was reading. "Funny you should say that… Earlier today, Kou told me that Rei expressed the same exact concerns about Nagisa."

Makoto's eyes widen slightly. "What did she say about that-?"

"Well, she wasn't very happy… But she agreed with him. And to be honest, I do too, wholeheartedly. I know this tournament is important to you boys… But Haruka and Nagisa's health should take full priority."

Biting his lip, Makoto nodded slowly. "Yes, definitely… I'm just scared that they're not going to agree. That they'll blame themselves for keeping us out of the tournament…"

Before their conversation could progress any further, Gou appeared with the rest of the boys in tow. None of them were in their swimsuits, and all of them looked somber. "Oh, Makoto, you're already here! I'm calling a team meeting," Gou announced. She sounded like her normal peppy self, but her eyes were clouded. She stepped away from the boys, standing before them with her arms crossed. "I guess I'll jump right to the chase. ...We should disband the team."

Makoto and Rei flinched slightly, while Haruka and Nagisa froze in total horror. "...what? _Why_?" Nagisa squeaked. Gou glanced at Rei, inviting him to explain.

"Nagisa… I just don't think it would be safe for you and Haruka-senpai," Rei told him gently.

"What…? Of course it will be! We'll be super careful, and we're training really well-!" Nagisa argued, tears jumping into his eyes. Haruka only stared darkly at the ground.

"That's exactly the problem. If you play it safely, and don't train too hard, you won't be in shape for the tournament. But if you continue training at your current pace, you're going to hurt yourselves. It simply isn't worth the risk," Rei reasoned calmly, despite the evident sadness in his expression.

"But… But…!" Nagisa hung his head, defeated. Pouting, he gave his tummy a frustrated poke, but his expression quickly softened and he hugged himself around the waist, as if apologizing to the baby for having even a moment of disdain towards them.

"...I'm sorry," Haruka whispered after a heavy pause. Makoto's eyes widened, and he reached out to give Haruka's hand a comforting squeeze.

"No, no, don't be sorry…! This isn't your fault at all. The team means a lot to us, yes, but… You mean a lot more. And besides, we decided to have this baby _together._ We're equally to blame," he insisted. Haruka glanced briefly into Makoto's eyes, then buried his face in his shoulder. Makoto immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"...well… I guess that's that, then. The Iwatobi Swim Club is officially disbanding," Gou murmured, her voice wavering slightly. "It's… It's been fun, guys."

Seeing Gou clearly restraining herself from crying caused Nagisa to allow a few of his own tears to fall. "Don't say it like that, Gou-chan…! We're still gonna see each other and stuff-! We just… can't swim together, is all…" His light crying suddenly burst into full sobbing, and he threw himself into Rei's arms.

"Shh, Nagisa… It's alright… Just because we can't have our swim team anymore doesn't mean we can't all be friends… This is a sacrifice that needed to be made, for your and Haruka-senpai's health. It's alright." Despite his words, Rei seemed just as downcast as everyone else. They stood in silence for several moments, trying to balance the weight of the decision that was just made.

"...well, I suppose I'll have to fill out the club withdrawal form…" Ms. Amakata said quietly, doing her best to hide her own tears. But nobody heard her. Makoto and Rei gazed down at their boyfriends quivering in their arms, and knew that as painful as it was to say good-bye to the team, it was for the best. The future that laid ahead of them was much larger than the status of their swim team.


End file.
